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COLUMBUS DISCOVERING AMERICA, 



THE 



H ISTORY 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES; 



TOLD IN 



ONE SYLLABLE WORDS, 



B r 

MISS JOSEPHINE POLLARD. 



WITH COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS. 



NEW YORK: 

MCLOUGHLIN BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS. 



-';?pls£«- 



Copyrighted— 1884— By McLoughlln Bros. 






A FEW WORDS. 



THIS is a tale in short words for small folks, on 
the way our land grew. There is much that all boys 
and girls ought to know, of the brave deeds of our 
great men. 

To read this will make you wa7it to read more and 
to learn more, of what the ^7nen of old times and of 
new times did to make our land the great land it now is. 

The 77ien of old times foicght to make the land free. 
We who live in this day should be proud to have it 
free, and do our best to keep it so. 

All young folks should be glad to learn of the land 
in which they live ; to know who were its chief men; 
and to tell of the wars which were fought, in which 
the foes of the land were put to flight. They should 
know, too, what a bright and glad thing it is that we 
now have peace in the land, after all the wars we 
have been through. 

God has led tcs on through ways that have been 
strange, to reach the place where we now stand. The 
men of all the earth look 07i otcr land, and we are 
glad to have them call it 

THE LAND OF THE EREE 

and 

THE HOME OE THE BRAVE. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter I. 
Chapter II. 
Chapter III. 
Chapter IV. 
Chapter V. 
Chapter VI. 
Chapter VII. 
Chapter VIII. 
Chapter IX. 
Chapter X. 
Chapter XI. 
Chapter XII. 
Chapter XIII. 
Chapter XIV. 

Chapter XV. 
Chapter XVI. 



THE NORTH MEN. 

A GREAT MAN. 

A NEW WORLD. 

NEW HOMES 

WARS WITH THE RED MEN. 

TWO MEN OF PEACE. . 

FRENCH AND IN-DI-AN WARS. 

THE CAUSE OF A GREAT WAR 

THE FIRST FIGHT. 

GEORGE WASH-ING-TON. . 

DARK DAYS 

THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 

ON SHIP AND SHORE. 

WHAT TOOK PLACE IN MEX-I-CO AND 
CAL-I-FOR-NIA. 

NORTH AND SOUTH AT WAR. 

SINCE THE WAR. 





5 




14 




26 




39 




. . 46 




. . 58 




62 




66 




. . 69 




V 




81 




86 




90 


:0 AND 




. 


97 




103 


. 


. 115 



THE 



HISTORY OF THE LUTED STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE NORTH MEN. 



IN the North of Europe 
Hved the North, or 
Norse men, who were fond 
of the sea. They were a 
large, strong race. They 
wore the skins of wild 
beasts for clothes, and when 
they went out to fight wore 
great coats of mail. These 
men were great thieves, 
and stole all that came in 
their way. 

Some of these men 
sailed from Den-mark in 
the year 900, and, in a 
storm, were cast on the 
shores of Ice-land. Thus 
Ice- land was found by 



chance, and in a few years 
some Danes went there to 
live, and kept up a trade 
with the main-land. When 
some years had gone by, 
Green-land was found by 
an Ice-land-er who set sail 
in a way that no one else 
had gone, and in a short 
time some of the Ice-land 
folks went to live in the 
new land where there was 
less ice and snow. 

You would think from 
the name that it was a 
place where green grass 
grew, and there were green 
fields, and green trees, and 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



high green hills such as 
you can see in your own 
land. But if you look 
on the map you will 
see that this could not 
be ; for Green-land is near 
the North Pole, where 
there is ice and snow all 
the year round, and the 
folks there have to live 
in huts, that have a hole 
in the side for them to 
crawl through, and a hole 
in the top to let the smoke 
out. 

Eric, the Red, was one 
of the first who went from 
Ice-land to Green-land to 
make a home. Men in 
those days were as fond of 
change as they are now, 
and as they had but few 
clothes and did not need 
much to keep house with, 
they could go from place 
to place with great ease. 



Their ships were strange 
in shape, with a tall prow 
in front, and must have 
been made stout and stronor 
or they could not have 
stood the rough waves in 
the great north sea. How 
would you like to live 
where there were ice and 
snow all the time, and the 
sun did not shine bright 
or warm for six months at 
a time. 

I have said that the 
Danes kept up a trade 
with the main-land ; but it 
was not the land that you 
will see near Green-land 
or Ice-land on the map. 
They did not know that 
such a great land was so 
near ; for when they set 
sail they took but one 
course and that was to the 
land they had come from, 
which was Den -mark. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



You can judge by the 
map how far off that was, 
and will not think it strange 
that it took so long a time 
to find out the great land 
that lay so near, but in a 
way they were not wont 
to go. 

One of the men who 
went with Eric, the Red, 
had a son, who at that 
time was in Nor-way, with 
which a trade was kept up. 
When the son came back 
to Ice-land and found that 
those with whom he made 
his home were not there, 
he made up his mind to go 
to Green-land too, though 
he did not know how to 
get there, and there was no 
one to show him the way. 

But for all that he set 
out with a ship's crew, and 
might have found his way 
to Green-land, if a storm 



had not set in that drove 
him out of his course. 
Part of the time they were 
shut in by thick fogs, so 
that they could not tell 
where they were. Then 
the bleak winds blew from 
the north and drove their 
ship far to the south-west, 
when their aim had been to 
keep to the north-east. 

At length they saw a land 
which they knew could not 
be Green-land, for they had 
been told that its shores 
were rough and full of ice- 
hills, and these shores were 
quite flat and gre^^t trees 
grew there ; so they stood 
out to sea, and m two days 
with a south-west wind 
they came in sight of a 
coast, which was also flat 
and full of trees. This did 
not please them, so they set 
sail once more and in three 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



days came to a third land, 
which they found out had 
the sea on all sides and was 
not as large as Ice-land. 
Its great ice-hills they did 
not like, so they did not 
land, but bore off with the 
same wind, and in four 
days came to the coast of 
Green-land. This was in 
the year 986. If they 
had known that the land 
they had been so near was 
part of a great and a new 
world, how changed would 
have been their course ! 
But the men were sick of 



the sea and orlad to 



get 



back to their own homes 
and their friends, and to 
tell them all they had 
seen. 

In eight years this same 
man, whose name was 
Bard-son, and who had a 
ship of his own, went off to 



spend some time with the 
Earl of Nor-way to whom 
he spoke of the strange 
land he had seen but a few 
days' sail from Green-land; 
and the Earl, and all those 
who heard him, thought it 
was a great shame that he 
did not go on shore when 
he was so near, and had 
such a good chance to find 
out what sort of a place ic 
was. 

The young men of Green- 
land were quite sure they 
would not have done as 
Bard-son did ; and as they 
had no books to read, and 
not much else to think of, 
their whole talk for years 
and years was of what 
some of their own folks 
had seen with their own 
eyes. It was so strange a 
tale that some of them did 
not think it could be true. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



Green trees and a flat coast 
so near? It could not be! 
The men had dreamt it ! 
No one cared to send a 
ship down that way to see 
if it were so. They did 
not care a great deal for 
land. The great sea was 
the field they plow'd ; it 
gave them their food, and 
they could ride at ease on 
its waves and feel free to 
go here or there. 

But in the year i,ooo, 
Leif, one of the sons of 
Eric, the Red, made up 
his mind to go out in search 
of those strange lands of 
which he had heard since 
he was a boy, and to find 
out if these tales were all 
true. So he bought the 
same ship that Bard-son 
used to call his own, the 
name of which has not 
com.e down to us, and with 



quite a large crew set sail 
from Green- land. 

The first land they made 
was that which Bard-son 
had seen last. Here they 
went on shore. Not a 
blade of grass was to be 
seen ; on all sides were 
great hills of ice, and twixt 
these and the shore a great 
bare field of slate, on which 
no weed could find a place 
to grow. As they did not 
like the looks of the land 
they gave it a bad name, 
Hell-u-land, and put to sea 
at once. 

It is thought that this 
land was what is now 
known as New-found-land, 
which sets out from the 
main-land so that the 
waves can dash all round 
its coast, and the north 
winds pile their drifts of ice 
and snow up on the shore. 



lO 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The next land these 
brave men came to, and 
where they went on shore, 
was quite flat, but thick 
woods could be seen back 
from the low coast. To 
this place they gave the 
name of Wood-land. It 
is now known as No-va 
Sco-tia. 

But Leif did not choose 
to stay here ; so he set sail, 
and in a few days came to 
a point of land that set out 
at the east of the main-land 
like a great bare arm of 
stone, or a hook to reap 
with. This you will see, 
if you look on the map, 
was Cape Cod, and through 
Cape Cod Bay, Leif went 
with his ship and soon 
found a nice place to land 
on the coast of Mas-sa-chu- 
setts. Here they at first 
built huts to live in ; but 



as they liked the place and 
made up their minds to 
stay for some time, they 
put up log houses in which 
they could keep warm 
when the days grew cold, 
and ice and snow were on 
the ground. 

From time to time men 
were sent out to view the 
land, and one day when 
one of them, a German, 
did not come back with 
the rest, Leif and a few of 
his crew went out to look 
for him. They soon met 
him, and he told them he 
had not been far, but had 
found vines and grapes 
which were well known to 
him, as he had been born 
in a land where they grew. 
At first they did not think 
he told the truth ; but 
the next day some of the 
men went with him, and 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



II 



found it just as he had 
said it was. 

When Leif and his men 
made up their minds to go 
home, they piled the deck 
of their ship with the trees 
they had cut down, and 
filled the long boat with 
grapes. The place was so 
full of vines and grapes 
that Leif gave it the name 
of Vin-land ; and in the 
spring he and his men set 
out for Green-land. 

These brave Norse men 
and their sons could not 
tell the rest of the world 
what they had seen ; so 
years went by and few 
found their way to this 
new world. Now and then 
a ship went out from Ice- 
land or Green -land, and 
there is proof that these 
North men found their 
way down the coast of 



North A-mer-i-ca as far 
as Mas -sa-chu- setts and 
Rhode Is-land. 

Bronze breast - plates, 
bronze belts, and sword- 
hilts, have been found from 
time to time, which could 
not have been worn by 
the red men of the woods, 
who had no use for such 
things. Strange signs were 
found cut in the rocks, and 
at New-port there is now 
a round house of gray 
stone which was built, no 
one knows when, but long 
ere Co-lum-bus came to 
A-mer-i-ca. 

At this time, and for a 
lonof term of vears, the 
whole of the U-ni-ted States, 
from the At-lan-tic to the 
Mis-sis-sip-pi, was a wild 
land where great woods 
grew, and where bears, 
wolves, wild-cats, and deer 



12 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



were free to roam. Here 
and there at the foot of 
hiofh hills were wide fields 
of long grass that spread 
for miles and miles like a 
great green sea. Snakes 
of all kinds made their 
home in this long grass 
through which they slid 
with ease, and basked in 
the warm rays of the sun. 
Here, too, the wild ox 
made a path, and went 
back and forth where the 
foot of man had not trod, 
and no one had as yet 
found out the worth of his 
horns and his skin. 

It is said that long ere a 
white man saw this land, 
stranofe men with dark skins 
lived here and built large 
towns, fought great fights, 
and served false gods. But 
of this we can not be sure. 
No one can tell what took 



place, or what they did 
who lived here in those far 
off days when no white 
man had set foot on the 
land. 

The first white men who 
came to this new world 
found here a wild race 
who wore the skins of wild 
beasts tied round their 
waists, and lived in a rude 
sort of way. They were 
tall and straight, with dark 
red skins, high cheek bones, 
and coarse black hair. The 
whites g^ave these red men 
the name of In-di-ans, as 
it was then thought that 
A-mer-i-ca was a part of 
In-di-a. 

These In-di-ans could 
do three things : hunt, fish, 
and fight. They made 
their squaws do all the 
hard work. These poor 
squaws had to dig the 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



13 



ground, sow the corn, and 
weave the mats of which 
their huts were made; and 
not a smile or a kind word 
did they get to pay them 
for their hard tasks. 

The men spent the most 
of their time in the woods, 
where they, could hunt 
for game, by the streams 
where fish were to be 
■caught, or else in fights 
with those who dwelt near 
them. 

They made use of bows 
and clubs with great skill. 
Their darts had sharp 
stones at the end, or bits 
of shells. They were such 
good shots that they could 



bring down a bird, or a 
deer, or a man a long way 
off Their clubs were made 
of hard wood. When they 
killed a man, they would 
cut off his scalp, which 
was the skin of his head 
with the hair on, and these 
scalps were tied to their 
belts and worn with much 
pride. 

These were not nice men 
to meet with in a strange 
land, and as you read on 
you will learn how the 
white men had to fight 
these foes, and in what 
ways they tried to make 
friends with the red men. 



14 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER IL 



A GREAT MAN. 



At the time of which I 
write, the earth was thought 
to be flat, and men w^ho 
went to sea made use of 
the stars to steer by. 

But a great change came, 
and a grreat man. His 
name was Chris-to-pher 
Co-lum-bus, and he was 
born at Gen-o-a, It-a-ly. 
As a boy he was fond of 
the sea, and he learned, 
while quite a lad, how^ to 
sail a ship and to take 
charge of a crew. When 
he grew to be a man he 
had a ship of his own, and 
kept up a trade with lands 
that were far off In those 
days men went to Af-ri-ca 
for gold and for slaves, and 



to A-sia for rich fruits and 
fine goods that could be 
found no where else. The 
sea was a great high-way, 
and bad men would lie in 
wait to seize the ships on 
their way back from the 
East, and to take from 
each one of them the rich 
prize that it bore. 

Of course the men did 
not want to lose what they 
had gone so far to get, and 
there would be g^reat fio^hts 
on the sea. 

In a sea-fight off the 
coast of Spain Co-lum-bus' 
ship was set on fire, and 
all on board had to swqm 
for their lives. Co-lum-bus 
found his way to Lis-bon, 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



15 



where there were some 
folks who spoke his tongue, 
and they gave him the best 
of care. Here he made his 
home, and took a wife, and 
in time had charts and 
books of his own, that told 
him all that was known of 
the great wide sea, of which 
he was so fond. 

Each day he grew more 
wise, and his mind was full 
of orreat schemes. 

From what he read, and 
from what he had seen in 
his trips to far off coasts, 
from the shape of the land 
and the bend of the sky, 
Co-lum-bus made up his 
mind that the world was 
round and not so large as 
it was thought to be, and 
that men must sail west to 
find a short way to In-di-a. 

If yow look at a map of 
the world you will see that 



the short cut from Eu-rope 
to In-di-a would be straigrht 
through North A-mer-i-ca. 
No ship could make this, 
of course. But at the time 
I speak of, the folks in 
Eu-rope did not know that 
there was such a place as 
North A-mer-i-ca, and Co- 
lum-bus thought it would 
be a fine thing to take this 
short cut from Spain to In- 
di-a. The more he thouo;ht 
of it, the more he felt that 
it could be done. He was 
both brave and bold. He 
did not ask that men and 
ships should be sent to see 
if this were so. He wished 
to take the lead and to 
prove that he was not such 
a fool as they thought. 

What faith he had ! 

For long, long years he 
tried hard to prove that 
this thing could be done ; 



i6 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



but no one had faith in 
him. They had been taught 
that the earth was flat, and 
that it was not safe for 
ships to go west for fear 
they would fall off 

He could get no help in 
his plans, and wise men 
told him to give them up. 
He asked in vain for ships 
and gold, for he was too 
poor to buy what he would 
need on such a long trip. 
Some made fun of him to 
his face and said, if the 
world were round, some 
folks would have to walk 
on their heads. 

One day when Co-lum- 
bus felt worn and sad, for 
it was a great grief to him 
that he could get no one 
to think as he did, he sat 
down to rest in the shade 
of a house where some 
monks made their home. 



It was high noon, and "he 
asked the monk to mve 
him a cool drink. The 
monk brought him the 
draught, and sat down by 
Co-lum-bus to have a talk 
with him. Co-lum-bus told 
him his views and his plans, 
and the monk thought so 
well of them that he said 
he would speak to his 
friends at the court of 
Spain and see what they 
would do to aid him in 
his bold scheme. 

Co-lum-bus first went to 
It-a-ly, in 1484, but the 
king of that place would 
give him no help. Then 
he went to Por-tu-gal, and 
bad men laid a scheme to 
fit him out with ships and 
then rob him of the wealth 
or fame he might win. 
But Co-lum-bus found this 
out, and when the king 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



17 



of Por-tu-gal sought to 
make terms with him, Co- 
lum-bus would give him 
no heed. 

This will show you how 
he came to go to Spain and 
to sail from there, when he 
was born in Gen-o-a, and 
had made his home in Lis- 
bon for so many years. 

In the mean time he 
had sent a friend to Eng- 
land, to see what King 
Hen-ry the Sev-enth would 
do for him. This friend 
fell in with those sea 
thieves I have told you 
of, and they took all that 
he had, so that when he 
got to Eng-land he was 
in a sad plight. He was 
sick for some time, but as 
soon as he got well he 
went to work and made 
and sold maps, and in a 
year or two he had the 



means to buy clothes that 
were fit to wear at court. 
And not till then did he 
go to see the king. This 
was in the year 1488. 

Co-lum-bus had o;one to 
Spain to try his luck there, 
and found a friend in good 
Queen Is-a-bel-la. He 
had made up his mind 
to go to France if Spain 
would not fit him out with 
ships ; and if it had not 
been for the queen, Co-Ium- 
bus might have died and 
the New World might 
not have been found at all. 
But these things do not 
take place by chance. 

When the right time 
comes, God puts it in the 
hearts of men to do what 
is wise and good in His 
sight. And God put it in 
the heart of Queen Is-a- 
bel-la to help Co-lum-bus 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



just at this time. " All 
things work for orood to 
them that love God." 

The monk who had been 
so kind to Co-lum-bus and 
such a friend to the cause 
from the first, set out to see 
what the king and queen 
of Spain would do. They 
were in camp at San-ta Fe, 
where the court was held, 
with the troops who at that 
time laid siege to Gra-na- 
da. The Fra, as the monk 
was called, told them that 
he had Q^reat faith in Co- 
lum-bus, who was a wise 
and good man, and there 
was no doubt that he had 
the skill to do all that he 
laid out. To such a man 
there was no such word 
,as fail. 

The Fra said it would be 
a great loss if they let slip 
so fair a chance to add to 



the wealth of Spain, and it 
would not do to let Co-lum- 
bus go off in a rage, and 
have the rich prize fall in 
the hands of kinoes who 
would be glad to seize it 
from the grasp of Spain. 

So well did he plead 
that the queen bade that 
Co-lum-bus should be sent 
for, with gold from the 
king's purse to pay his 
way. Co-lum-bus came 
and spoke in strong terms; 
some thouQ^ht what he said 
was wise, and were pleased 
with the way he spoke; 
some thouorht him a vain 
man, and his terms much 
too hieh. The war had 
cost Spain a great deal of 
gold, and they had none 
to waste on such a wild 
scheme as this in which 
Co-lum-bus would like them 
to take part. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



19 



Co-lum-bus gave up all 
hopes. Hymns were sung, 
and feasts were spread, and 
all Spain was glad, for 
Gra-na-da had been won 
from the hands of the foe. 
No one had time to think 
of poor Co-lum-bus, who 
felt that the years he had 
spent in Spain were in 
truth lost years. He took 
leave of his friends and 
set out for Cor-do-va, from 
which port he could sail 
for France where, as I have 
told you, he thought he 
miofht find friends to aid 
him in his plans. This 
was in the first month of 
the year 1492. 

At this time, one of the 
men who served the crown 
and had great love and 
zeal for the land that gave 
him birth, went to the 
queen and spoke to her as 



none but a man of his rank 
would dare to speak. He 
said that it was a shame 
that so orrand a scheme 
should fall through for 
want of some one like the 
queen to give it aid. She 
was fond of good deeds, 
and glad to do all she 
could to build up the 
church of Christ, and raise 
the Cross in lands where 
His name was not known. 
It was a sin to lose such a 
chance to let the light in a 
dark place. Why should 
they let a small sum of 
gold stand in the way of 
such a grand work and 
such a great prize ? 

If Co-lum-bus would risk 
his life, could Spain not 
risk her wld ? Friends and 
foes of his dear land would 
blame those who had been 
so blind and so weak as 



20 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



not to seize on this chance, 
and in the years to come 
each child of Spain would 
feel the loss and shame 
of it. 

The queen could not be 
deaf to these words. She 
said she would pledge her 
own gems to get the means, 
if Spain could not spare 
the crold. But there was 
no need of this. 

A man was sent in great 
haste to Co-lum-bus whom 
he found on the bridge 
of Pi-nas, two miles from 
Gra-na-da, and when he 
came back to the town of 
San-ta-Fe, he found the 
folks there so kind and 
good that he gave no 
thought to the things that 
had vexed him. 

Those whom God means 
shall do great things have 
to fight their way through 



much that is hard and sad. 
This makes them brave 
and strong, if they are 
made of the right kind of 
stuff. 

What joy must have been 
in the heart of Co-lum-bus 
when he was told that the 
king and queen of Spain 
would fit out a fleet of 
ships, and place him at 
the head ! 

At a sea port of Spain, 
named Pa-los, three small 
craft were put in charge 
of Co-lum-bus. They were 
such poor ships that he had 
hard work to find men to 
eo in them as crews. Few 
men in our day would care 
to risk their lives in such 
poor ships as the king and 
queen of Spain gave to Co- 
lum-bus. But it was the 
best they could do. The 
kinor said the crews must 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



go on board and do as 
Co-lum-bus said, and they 
went, but in great fear, for 
they shrank from such a 
wild cruise and were sure 
they would not find their 
way back to their homes. 

The three ships were 
named the San-ta Ma-ri-a 
[Ma-ree-ah] the Pin-ta, and 
the Ni-na [Ne-nah.] Co- 
lum-bus went on board the 
San-ta Ma-ri-a which had a 
deck. The Pin-ta and the 
Ni-na had no decks, and 
there was deep gloom in 
Pa-los when the fleet put 
out to sea in 1492. At the 
end of a week they were 
out of sight of land. Great 
fear fell on the crews, who 
had no wish but to get 
back home as fast as they 
could. The wind blew 
them on in a straight 
course, and this made them 



fear that they should not 
have a fair wind to take 
them back. 

The sea gulls, and the 
weeds, and the small birds 
they met at break of day 
made them think the land 
was near, and when the 
sun rose and they saw but 
the broad, deep sea, they 
were wroth with the man 
who had brought them so 
far from home. Their hopes 
gave way to fears as -day by 
day they watched and saw 
no signs of land. They 
had been made to go on 
this wild cruise. Their 
hearts were not in it. They 
had left all that was dear 
to them, and for what ? 

Some of the rough men 
shed tears, and some gave 
vent to loud cries. All of 
them found fault with Co- 
lum-bus, and thought he 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



was to blame for all their 
woes. He had led them 
off in search of a land that 
was no-where to be found, 
and they had a mind to kill 
him if he did not turn back. 
Then they would soon 
change the ship's course, 
and when they got back to 
Spain would tell the king 
that Co-lum-bus fell in the 
sea while his gaze was 
fixed on the stars. Co-lum- 
bus stood firm. He tried 
to soothe the men, and to 
lift up their hearts. He 
told them of the wealth in 
store for them in the new 
land he was quite sure he 
should find, and which 
could not be far off", and 
in this way and by the 
threats that he made kept 
the men from crime. He 
said that he was bound by 
the help of God to go to 



In-di-a, and if they did not 
do as they ought it w^ould 
be worse for them when 
the word was sent to the 
king of Spain. 

In a few days the wind 
blew from the right course, 
the sea was calm, and the 
three ships stood so near 
that Co-lum-bus could talk 
to those in charo^e of the 
Pin-ta and Ni-na. The 
air had a sweet smell, and 
fields of sea-weed came 
near the ship. While Co- 
lumbus bent his head on 
the chart to see if he could 
have gone out of his track, 
a shout went up from the 
Pin-ta, and the cry of 
"Land! Land!" 

The men were wild with 
joy. Co-lum-bus knelt 
down and gave thanks to 
God. The crews on all of 
the ships joined in a song 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



^l 



of praise. Some of the men 
climb to the mast head, 
and strain their eyes to see 
the land that lay but a few 
leagues off. All that night, 
to please the men who were 
so sure it was the land, Co- 
lum-bus set the ship out 
of its course, and stood to 
the north west. The light 
of day put an end to all 
their hopes, as to a dream. 
What they had thought 
was land was but a dark 
cloud ! With hearts full 
of grief they once more 
turn their course to the 
west, and for some days 
sail on with the same fair 
wind, smooth sea, and 
bright skies. 

The one who first saw 
the land was to have a 
great. prize, and this kept 
the men on the watch. 
But if one should cry out 



Land ! and it did not prove 
to be so, he was to have no 
share in the prize, though 
his eyes might be the first 
to catch a glimpse of the 
real land, and his voice the 
first to tell the good news. 
Once those on board the 
Ni-na, which took the lead 
the most of the time, fired 
a gun, and sent up a flag 
and were sure they had 
seen land ; but as they 
V\^ent on they found out 
that they were wrong. 

All this time the crew 
of the San-ta Ma-ri-a had 
it in their hearts to kill 
Co-lum-bus, and he knew it, 
but showed no fear, though 
he kept a close watch on 
all the siorns that told him 
the land could not be far 
off 

They had been at least 
two months at sea, a long 



24 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



time for men of ill-will to 
keep their rage in check, 
when birds and land fowl 
that Co-lum-bus knew could 
not fly far, came quite near 
the ship. The songs of 
birds were in the air, and 
one day the men on board 
the Pin-ta took up a staff" 
on which strange signs 
were wrought, and saw a 
cane float by, and a large 
lot of weeds torn fresh 
from the shore. 

Co-lum-bus spoke to his 
men ; told them how good 
God had been to them 
to lead them so far and 
keep them safe from all 
harm, and said that as he 
had sure proofs they were 
near land he would have 
them watch all night. 

New joy rose in the 
hearts of the home- sick 
men. Not an eye was 



closed that night. The 
breeze had been fresh all 
day with more sea than 
they had had for some 
time, and the ships went 
with more speed. As it 
grew dark Co-lum-bus took 
his stand on the top of the 
high deck of his ship, and 
kept his eyes fixed on the 
west. 

At ten o'clock at night 
he thought he saw a light 
on shore. It came and 
went, as if it were a torch 
in a boat that rose and 
sunk with the waves, or in 
the hand of some one on 
shore borne up and down 
as he went from house to 
house. In two hours more 
the shout of Land ! Land ! 
was heard from the Pin-ta, 
and the ships laid to, to 
wait for the dawn. 

What pride and joy 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



25 



must have been in the I and with a drawn sword 



heart of Co-lum-bus ! 
Those who had thought 
him a fool would now 
learn that he was a wise 
man. 

At break of day they 
saw a long strip of low 
.land five miles to the north. 
Trees rise in view and 
the shores are green. All 
shed tears of joy, and sing 
a hymn of praise to God. 

The crews man the 
boats and in great pomp 
row to the shore. Co-lum- 
bus lands in a rich dress, 



in his hand. The flacr of 
Spain is set up which has 
on it a o^reen cross with 
crowns and the names of 
Fer-di-nand and Is-a-bel-la. 
All kneel on the sand, and 
kiss the earth, and thank 
God with tears of joy. In 
this way Co-lum-bus lays 
claim to the land in the 
name of the king and 
queen of Spain, and all the 
men vow to serve Co-lum- 
bus, and through him the 
king and queen of the 
land they love. 



26 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER III 



A NEW 

Co-lum-busgave the name 
of San Sal-va-dor to this 
land which he thought was 
on the coast of In-di-a. 
He did not see the gold 
and gems he knew were to 
be found in that rich land, 
but he saw a new race of 
men with dark skins, who 
wore no clothes at all, and 
stared at him and his men 
as if they thought they had 
come down from the sky, 
or out of the deep sea. 
When these red men on 
the land saw the boats 
draw near the shore, and a 
lot of strange men clad in 
bright steel and gay clothes 
land on the beach, they 
fled to the woods in great 
fear. 



WORLD. 

But when they found 
that no one sought to harm 
them they came back and 
drew near the men of 
Spain with great awe, fell 
on their knees, and made 
signs as if they thought 
they were gods. 

These men were not so 
dark as Af-ri-cans, nor was 
their hair so crisp. It was 
straight and coarse, cut 
short at the tops of the 
ears, and some locks left 
lone hunor down their 
backs. Each man held a 
long lance in his hand the 
point of which was made 
hard by fire, while some 
of them were made more 
sharp by a piece of flint, 
or the teeth or bone of a 



THE HISTO ■ 



) STATES. 



27 



fish. They knew n» 
use of a sword, and when 
one was held out to them 
they took it by the edge. 

Co-lum-bus gave them 
gay caps, glass beads, hawks' 
bells, and such things as 
were used in trade on the 
gold coast of Af-ri-ca, and 
made friends of them at 
once. They hung the beads 
round their necks, and 
were pleased with their 
fine toys, and with the 
sound of the bells. 

When Co-lum-bus asked 
these men, to whom he 
gave the name of In-di- 
ans, where he could find 
gold, they would point to 
the south, and make signs 
that led him to think that 
a kinor dwelt there of such 
wealth that his food was 
served on plates of wrought 
gold. He heard, too, some 



A Cu-ba, and of large 
^.-os that went there to 
trade, and he made up his 
mind that all these bits of 
land he saw were on the 
coast of A-si-a, and that 
the ships were those of the 
Great Khan, of whom he 
had read. 

So he set sail for Cu-ba, 
where he thought to find 
mines of gold, groves of 
spice, and shores full of 
pearls, but when he got 
there he found no signs of 
wealth. One man of the 
tribe who came out to meet 



him wore a ring — and that 



was m 



though the 



his nose ! But 
land was not 
rich in gold it was rich in 
much else that would bring 
wealth to those who set 
up a trade with these new 
lands, which are now 
known as the West In-dies. 



THE HISTL 



ED STATES. 



As Co-lum-bus stcf 
his boat by the east coa,i5L 
of Cu-ba he saw land to the 
south-east, with great high 
hills that rose up to the sky. 
The In-di-ans cried out in 
a way that made Co-lum- 
bus think that that was the 
place to look for gold, but 
when they saw him steer 
his boat that way they 
were in great fear and 
made signs to him to come 
back. They told him as 
well as they could that a 
fierce race dwelt there, that 
they had but one eye, and 
would eat a man up raw. 

But Co-lum-bus went on 
and in two days came to a 
fine piece of land to which 
he gave the name of Hay- 
ti [Ha-tee]. High rocks 
rose from out a rich growth 
of trees, the soil was rich, 
broad plains of green grass 



.t the foot of the hills ; 
and the fires at night and 
the smoke that was seen by 
day, were signs that more 
men would be found here 
than they had seen else 
where in the New World. 
But though the soil was 
rich, the streams full offish, 
and the In-di-ans kind, the 
men of Spain were sad, for 
they saw no signs of gold. 
Co-lum-bus found at 
Hay-ti, now known as San 
Do-min-go, a race of men 
not at all like those he had 
met with. Some of them 
wore rings and chains of 
gold, which they were glad 
to change for the beads 
and bells the crews gave 
them. A young chief came 
to see Co-lum-bus and gave 
him a rich belt and two 
bits of gold ; and he and 
all his men thought that 



3 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



29 



Co-lum-bus and those with 
him must have come down 
from the skies. 

Though not much gold 
was found in this place, 
Co-lum-bus was told by 
one of the wise men that 
he would soon reach the 
lands that were rich in this 
ore. It was near the end 
of the year 1492, when 
Co-lum-bus and his crews 
came to the Bay of Saint 
Thom-as. Some of the men 
on shore came off in boats 
made of light bark ; some 
swam to them and all 
brought gifts of rare fruits, 
and with free hands gave 
all the gold they wore. 

The chief who ruled the 
land sent to Co-lum-bus a 
broad belt wrought with 
gay beads and bones, and 
a mask of wood, the eyes, 
nose, and tongue of which 



were of gold. The chief 
sent word that it* was his 
wish that the ships should 
come to that part of the 
coast near which he dwelt. 
As the wind was not 
right, Co-lum-bus could not 
get his boats off at once, 
so he sent one of his head 
men who was well read in 
the law, with some of the 
crew to call on the chief, 
whom they found in a 
laro^e and well-built town 
which was called Pun-ta 
San-ta. The chief met the 
men in a kind of square, 
which had been swept clean 
and made fine, and did all 
he could to show how glad 
he was to see them. When 
they left he gave them 
birds and bits of gold, and 
crowds of men went with 
them to their boats. 
When Co-lum-bus set sail 



so 



THE HISTORY OF THE UXITED STA TES. 



out of this bay, the wind 
was from the land, and so 
liofht that it did not fill the 
sails. It was Christ-mas 
eve. Co-lum-bus had kept 
watch each night since 
they left Spain. This night 
as the sea was calm and 
smooth, and the ship scarce 
moved at all, he thought 
he would lie down and rest. 
He felt quite safe as the 
boats that were out that 
day found no rocks nor 
shoals in their course. 

As soon as Co-lum-bus 
left the deck the man 
whose place it was to steer 
the San-ta Ma-ri-a gave the 
helm in charge of one of the 
ship-boys, and went to sleep. 
The rest of the men who 
had the watch, now that 
Co-lum-bus was out of the 
way, thought that they 
might as well take their 



ease, and in a short time 
the whole crew had ofone 
to sleep. In the mean time 
the strong tides that ran by 
this coast swept the ship 
with no noise but with 
great force up on a sand 
bank. The boy could not 
have been a smart lad, for 
it is said that he took no 
heed of the bio^ waves 
whose loud roar could be 
heard for at least three 
miles. But as soon as he 
felt the boat strike and 
heard the wild rush of the 
sea, he gave a loud cry for 
help. Co-lum-bus was the 
first on deck. He and his 
men did their best to save 
the ship, but it was too late. 
The keel was fixed deep in 
the sand, and as the sea 
would soon break her up, 
Co-lum-bus and his crew 
went on board the Ni-na. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



31 



It is not well to set a 
boy to do a man's work. 
Co-lum-bus knew this, and 
was not to blame for the 
loss of the ship. The 
wreck took place on the 
shore near where the chief 
dwelt, and he went on 
board the Ni-na to see Co- 
lum-bus, and wept to find 
him so much cast down. 

While the two stood on 
deck they saw a light bark 
draw near in which were 
some In-di-ans who had 
brought a lot of bright bits 
of gold, which they wished 
to chano^e for hawks' bells. 
These toys gave the In-di- 
ans great joy. I will tell 
you why. The In-di-ans 
were fond of the dance, and 
would mark the time with 
the strange songs they sung, 
and take their steps to the 
sound of a kind of drum. 



made from the trunk of a 
tree, and the noise that 
could be made with small 
bits of wood. When they 
hung the hawks' bells on 
their necks, waists, and 
arms, and heard the clear 
sweet sound they gave, in 
time with each move that 
was made in the dance, the 
In-di-ans were wild with 
joy. It is said that one 
In-di-an gave half a hand- 
full of gold-dust for one of 
these bells, and fled to the 
woods for fear the men of 
Spain would rob him when 
they found out how cheap 
they had sold it. 

When the chief saw how 
the face of Co-lum-bus lit 
up at the sight of the gold, 
and found out that it was 
his wish to reach a land 
where this ore could be 
due out of the Q^round, he 



32 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



told him by signs that there 
was a place not far off where 
there was so much gold 
that the folks there did not 
care much for it. 

This news brought good 
cheer to the heart of Co- 
lum-bus and he felt that his 
ship-wreck was not such a 
sad thinor as he had thoug^ht. 
But for fear the Pin-ta or 
the Ni-na should meet with 
the same fate as the San-ta 
Ma-ri-a, he thought it best 
to go back to Spain and 
make it known what a 
great and a rich land he 
had found. 

On his way back there 
rose a great storm. Co- 
lum-bus thought his ships 
would go down and the 
good news be lost to Spain. 
So he wrote it all out, 
sealed it up in a cake of 
wax, put the wax in a cask. 



and threw the cask in the 
sea. 

But God took care of 
the brave men, and his 
crews, and the ships found 
their way to port. When 
Co-lum-bus told of all the 
strange sights he had seen, 
there was great joy in 
Spain. Some of his men 
had brought back with 
them great lumps of gold ; 
and when they showed 
these to their friends, all 
had a strong wish to go to 
the New World and get 
rich at once. 

Large fleets of ships set 
sail from Spain, Port-u-gal, 
and It-a-ly. Some of them 
found the same lands that 
Co-lum-bus had seen, and 
some of them found their 
way to the main-land. 

There were some folks 
who thought it was no 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNFTED STATES. 



great thing that Co-lum-bus 
had done. It is told that 
at a feast a fine young man 
in a court dress said that 
he did not think it was 
hard to find such a land. 

Co-lum-bus bade him 
make an egg stand on end. 
He tried and could not 
do it. Then Co-lum-bus 
broke the end of the eo;or 
so that it stood with ease, 
and in this way taught the 
vain man that he knew less 
than he thought he did. 

Co-lum-bus went three 
or four times to the West 
In-di-es, and on each trip 
he took hosts of men to 
join him in the search for 
gold. But they had hard 
work to live in the strange 
lands, and they did not 
pick up the gold they 
thought they should find 
in all the fields. This did 



not please them at all, 
and they grew cross, and 
thought Co-lum-bus was 
to blame for all they had 
to put up with. 

The fourth time Co-lum- 
bus crossed the sea he 
found land at a point 
south of the West In-di-es, 
and this was the first that 
was known of the large 
tract of land which we call 
South A-mer-i-ca. This 
was in 1498. 

The fame of Co-lum-bus 
won for him the hate of 
great men at the court of 
Spain, and they did all 
they could to harm him. 
False tales were told ; and 
men he had thought were 
his friends, and for whom 
he had done so much, did 
not treat him well, and he 
was sent back to Spain in 
chains. Was it not hard 



34 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED ST A TES. 



to drive him out of the 
New World that might 
not have been found at all 
but for him? What poor 
pay he got for all he had 
gone through ! 

It was still worse for Co- 
lum-bus when Queen Is-a- 
bel-la died, for then he had 
no kind friend at court to 
save him from the wrath 
of his foes. No one took 
pains to see that he had 
food to eat or clothes to 
wear, and so he had to 
do the best that he could. 
He died at last, a poor 
lone old man, who did not 
know how much orood he 
had done in the world, nor 
dream of the Q^reat fame 
that would be his for all 
time to come. 

In the year 15 12, an 
old man, whose name was 
Ponce de Le-on, set sail 



from Spain to seek for a 
fount of which he had 
heard. If he could bathe 
in it he would be young 
and gay once more. His 
search was vain. But he 
found a part of the New 
World which had not yet 
been seen by men from the 
old, and he gave it the 
name of Flo-ri-da. 

In one of the ships that 
set sail from It-a-ly was a 
man named A-mer-i-cus 
Ves-pu-ci-us, and he went 
all round the coast of South 
A-mer-i-ca where no one 
else had been. When he 
went back home he wrote 
of all he had seen, and said 
that he had been the first 
to find the main land, and 
so they gave the name of 
A-mer-I-ca to the New 
World to which Co-lum- 
bus had first led the way. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



35 



The kinor of Eno^-land 
heard what had been done 
by Spain, and he sent men 
and ships to the New 
World. Some of them had 
the bad luck to land in the 
cold north, in the midst of 
ice and snow. Some found 
their way south, where the 
air was soft and mild, and 
birds sang, and the fields 
were green the whole year 
round. 

Men came from all parts 
to seek homes in the New 
World, and to grow rich 
on the gold that was there. 
They had to work hard to 
till the soil, to cut down 
trees, and to fight their way 
through the dense swamps 
and thick woods. Some 
died for want of food. 
For some the life was too 
hard. But those that were 
left were brave and strong. 



and kept right on in their 
work, and from time to 
time fresh crews came from 
the Old World to give 
them cheer. 

A man, named John 
Cab-ot, as soon as he heard 
of what Co-lum-bus had 
done, set sail from Eng- 
land, by the King's leave, 
and made his way to the 
New World. He went too 
far to the north where he 
found the land so bleak 
and so cold that he did not 
care to stay, and soon made 
his way back to the place 
he came from. 

In a short time his son 
Se-bas-tian set sail with as 
larofe a crew as he could 
hire, and kept his ship well 
to the west. At length 
he came in sight of land. 
But there were no green 
fields, no ripe fruits, nor 



36 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



birds, such as Co-lum-bus 
and his men had seen. 
As far as the eye could see 
there were bleak rocks, 
dark pine trees, and heaps 
of snow. White bears 
made their homes in deep 
caves, and the woods were 
full of a strange kind of 
deer. This, was not the 
place to look for gold, and 
Se-bas-tian went back to 
Eng-land with a sad heart. 
All this time men from 
Spain and the lands near 
by, went to the south part 
of the New World where 
they found gold and things 
of great worth. They were 
for the most part bad men 
who thought they had a 
right to kill the In-di-ans 
and steal their land. Some 
times the men of Spain 
had a great fight with the 
red men, and drove them 



out of the land. This was 
what Cor-tes did in Mex- 
i-co. Some times the red 
men had the best of the 
fight, and shot at the white 
men and drove them back 
to their ships. 

Th#i the French thouo^ht 
they must have a share in 
the New World, so they 
sent men and ships to the 
west. Some of them went 
as far north as the Gulf of 
Saint Law-rence, and up 
to the place where Mon- 
tre-al now stands. The 
In-di-ans here were much 
scared at first at the sight 
of white men. But in a 
short time they grew used 
to them, and brought the 
French men food, and 
herbs to cure those who 
were sick, and were as kind 
as they knew how to be. 
How did the French men 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



37 



pay them for the use they 
made of them as guides 
through these strange, wild 
lands? I will tell you. They 
caught the In-di-an chief 
and took him by force to 
France. The King of 
France thought there was 
no harm in this, and so 
he sent this base man, 
Car-tier, back to the New 
World, and with him one 
who was to act as a sort 
of king in the land which 
Car-tier had seen, and to 
which he had no more 
right than you or I. But 
this time the In-di-ans 
would have nought to do 
with the white men. They 
did not hurt the French 
men, but they would give 
them no food and would 
not act as guides. This 
served them just right. 
Some grew sick ; some 



died ; and the rest went 
back to France, and made 
up their minds that the 
New World was not a fit 
place for a white man to 
live in. 

But the King of France 
had no mind to let the 
King of Spain have more 
than his share of the New 
World. So he sent more 
men and more ships, and 
one of these men went by 
the coast of Flo-ri-da, and 
all the way up to New- 
found-land, and set up the 
flag of the French king, 
and gave the place the 
name of New France. This 
was in the year 1524. 

Do you know how much 
a score is? It is twice ten. 
If one score is twice ten, 
then four score must be 
eieht times ten. Well, 
I have told you that when 



38 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



Se-bas-tian Cab-ot went 
back to Eng-land he said 
that A-mer-i-ca was a poor 
cold place, where bears and 
deer- hved, and no gold 
could be found. So for 
four score years Eng-land 
sent no ships to the New 
World. 

At length a bold young 
man, named Wal-ter Ra- 
leigh (raw-lee), made up 
his mind to go and see if 
what Cab-ot said was true. 
Queen E-liz-a-beth, who 
ruled Eng-land at that 
time, was fond of Ra-leigh, 
and she gave him leave to 
seize the new lands he 
might find and lay claim 
to them in her name. All 
he had to do was to set up 
the flag of Great Brit-ain, 
and draw his sword from 
its sheath. His ships 
steered to the south west, 



and came to a land where 
there was no ice or snow, 
and green trees and ripe 
grapes grew close to the 
shore. The In-di-ans came 
down to meet the white 
men, and gave them corn, 
or maize, as they called it, 
and fish. Ra-leigh gave to 
the new land he found the 
name of Vir-gin-ia, and he 
left men at Ro-an-oake, 
where he first went on 
shore, and spent much gold 
in the hope that a large 
town would be built there 
and be called by his name. 
But ere this could be done 
Spain found out that the 
Enor-lish flaor had been set 
up on the coast, and went 
to work to drive off the 
ships that were sent down. 
Ra-leieh did not lose heart. 
But at this time news came 
that the King of Spain 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



39 



with a large fleet of ships 
of war was on its way to 
lay siege to Eng-land, and 
so Eng-land had need of 
all her ships, and Ra-leigh's 
with the rest. So the poor 
folks on the coast of Vir- 
ein-ia were left to starve 



and die. 



Though Eng-land and 



France laid claim to a 
large part of North A-mer- 
i-ca, it was a long, long 
time ere they sent men to 
make homes in the New 
World, to clear off the 
wild lands, and to till the 
soil and plant such things 
as would grow there. 



CHAPTER IV. 



NEW HOMES. 



In the year 1606, the 
King of Eng-land, whose 
name was James the First, 
rave a laro^e tract of land 
in Vir-ofin-ia to some men 
who had found out it was 
a fine place for poor men, 
as the streams were full of 
fish, and the woods were 
full of game. Ship loads 



of folks with small means, 
set sail from Eng-land, and 
made their homes at a 
place they called James- 
town. 

The red men came to see 
them and to smoke their 
pipe of peace with the 
white men, and for a while 
all went well. But as soon 



40 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



as they found that the 
white men had come to 
rob them of their lands, 
and to drive them from 
the soil to which they felt 
they had the first and best 
right they grew cold and 
stern, and were friends no 
more. 

They were a strange race 
and their mode of life was 
not at all like ours. The 
red men had no books. 
They could hunt and fish, 
and raise corn and beans 
and such things ; and with 
rude skill made their bows 
and darts, and the bowls 
in which to pound their 
corn. Their boats were 
made of birch-bark, and 
their huts, of bark or 
mats, were in the shape 
of a cone. They were fond 
of war, and proud of the 
scalps they won from their 



foes. They had no fear of 
death, and would scorn to 
plead for their lives. 

The white men gave them 
guns and rum ; and these 
two thing's were the cause 
of much strife, and made 
the red men hard to deal 
with. 

With the band who came 
from Eng-land was one 
John Smith, who was wise 
and brave, and knew how 
to deal with the red men, 
and but for him the white 
men would soon have been 
swept out of Vir-gin-ia. 
He was taught how to fight 
when a boy, and had been 
in orreat wars. He had led 
a wild life, and once, it is 
said, he fought with three 
Turks, cut off their heads 
and bore them to his tent. 
He was young and strong, 
and so wise and srood that 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



41 



the white men made him 
their chief. He did not 
hke to hear an oath, and 
he made a law that each 
man who swore was to 
have a cold bath and sleep 
in his wet clothes. This 
soon put a stop to that sin 
of the tongue. 

Some of the white men 
were not fond of good John 
Smith. They thought he 
knew too much and held 
his head too high, and they 
laid a plot to drive him out 
of Vir-gin-ia. They had 
come to seek gold and did 
not want to work, and did 
not plant crops as they 
should have done. So, of 
course, there was lack of 
food. This made them ill, 
and the loss by death was 
so great, that the rest of 
the band made up their 
minds to leave the place. 



But John Smith did not 
lose heart. He spoke to 
the men in words of cheer, 
and would not let them 
launch their boats. While 
some of the men spent 
their time in a vain search 
for gold, he was on the look 
out for food for them to 
eat. While they wept and 
sighed for home, he built 
huts, took care of the sick, 
and kept on good terms 
with the red men. 

One day John Smith set 
out on foot with a few men 
to see more of the new 
land. They fell in the, 
hands of a fierce band of 
red men who put all but 
John Smith to death. He 
was quite calm, and when 
they saw him write and do 
strange things, they were 
in orreat fear of him. For 
a while they kept him as 



42 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



a show; then they said he 
must die. 

Smith was bound hand 
and foot and laid on the 
ground. His head was on 



a great stone. 



The big 



club was raised to dash 
out his brains when a child 
ten or twelve years of age 
sprang from the crowd, put 
her arms round the poor 
man's neck and plead for 
his life. Her name was 
Po-ca-hon-tas, and she was 
the dear child of the great 
chief Pow-hat-an. She was 
fond of John Smith, and 
could not bear to see him 
killed ; so for her sake he 
was set free. 

This young girl twice 
saved the life of John 
Smith at the risk of her 
own, and she is said to 
have been as fond of him 
as if she were his own child. 



In the same year that 
this took place, that is in 
1608, a small band of men 
tried to fly from Eng-land 
with their wives and young 
folks. As they drew near 
the sea shore a great crowd 
gave chase, and they were 
seized and shut up in jail. 

What had they done? 
They were poor, but that 
was no crime. They loved 
God, and tried to do what 
was right They were 
fond of the word of God, 
and read in it a great deal, 
and each night and morn 
they prayed that God would 
bless them and teach them 
His will. This did not 
please the king, who said 
there must be but one 
church, and those who 
loved God must serve him 
in one way. 

The more these poor men 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



43 



read the word of God the 
more they felt that the king's 
way was not the right way. 
So they made up their 
minds not to go to the 
king's church ; and those 
who were too poor to build 
a church to suit their own 
taste met in their own 
homes, or in barns, or in 
fields, and prayed and sang 
psalms their own way. 

This put the king in a 
great rage, and he set men 
to work to do all they could 
to vex these Pu-ri-tans. 
They left them no peace, 
and those who could not 
stand the fight went back to 
the king's church. Those 
who would not yield to 
threats or force sought to 
leave their homes and find 
a safe place in the New 
World. But the king would 
not let them go or stay 



at home in peace, and so 
when they tried to leave 
Eng-land they were caught 
like thieves and shut up 
in jail. 

The next spring the Pu- 
ri-tans were more wise. 
They laid their plans in 
such a way that not a word 
got to the king's ears, and 
they made out to set sail 
from Eng-land. They went 
to Hoi -land, where they 
dwelt for some years. But 
in course of time they grew 
sad when they thought of 
home. They were in a 
strange land. The folks 
there spoke a strange 
tongue. They did not 
dare to go back to Eng- 
land, for fear King James 
would treat them worse 
than he had done, so they 
thought it best to o^o to A- 
mer-i-ca where they could 



44 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



pray as they chose, and still 
be with the old flag and 
serve Eng-land. 

It was in the fall of the 
year 1620 when five score 
Pu-ri-tans set sail from the 
port of Ply-mouth in the 
ship May Flow-er, for 
New Eng-land, which was 
the name John Smith gave 
to all that part of A-mer- 
i-ca that lay north of Vir- 
gin-ia. For more than two 
months they were at sea. 
The winds and waves were 
rough, and one of their 
band died on the way. 
They came at last to Cape 
Cod, where they found a 
rough and rock bound 
coast. The spray froze on 
their clothes. There was 
not much to cheer them. 
It took them some time to 
find a place where they 
could build their homes. 



At length a spot was found, 
where the soil seemed to 
be good, and there were 
fine clear springs where 
they could quench their 
thirst. They called the 
place New Ply-mouth, and 
the stone on which they 
first set foot in the New 
World can be seen at this 
day. Weak and ill as the 
most of them were, they 
went to work to build a 
few huts in which they 
could live till the warm 
days came. 

Day by day an old man, 
or a young wife, or a small 
child was borne out of the 
huts and a hole dug in the 
ground for a grave. But 
spring came; the birds sang 
in the woods ; the sick 
folks found health in the 
air, and all was peace and 
joy. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



45 



When the Pil-grims who 
had made their homes in 
Ply-mouth wrote to their 
friends in Eng-land and 
told them how free they 
were, and that they could 
serve God as they chose, 
with no fear of the King 
or the head men of his 
church, those who were of 
the same mind in the Old 
World felt their hearts 
yearn for the shores of New 
Enor-land. The kiuQ^ was 
their foe. They were forced 
to meet and pray by stealth. 
Yet they knew that if they 
left Eng-land they would 
have to give up their nice 
homes, and to live in the 
woods, and put up with 
much that would be hard 
for them to bear. But they 
did not care so long as they 
were free, and could serve 
God in their own way. 



At this time ships went 
each year from Eng-land 
to A-mer-i-ca, and men who 
went to trade, or to fish, had 
built huts on the coast. A 
man named Ma-son, who 
came from Hamp- shire, 
Eng-land, gave to a tract 
of land the name of New 
Hamp-shire. It is nice to 
know how the old towns 
and states got their names. 
Two small towns in New 
Hamp-shire, were known 
as Ports-mouth and Do-ver. 
'Twixt these towns and 
New Ply-mouth the Pu-ri- 
tans made up their minds 
to make their new home. 
They first sent John En- 
di-cott with a few men to 
make the paths straight 
for their feet. He was a 
brave man with a kind 
heart, and was full of good 
cheer. 



46 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



In the fall a ship came 
from Eng-land with more 
Pil-grims, but as she brought 
no stores of food, there was 
great fear that the whole 
band would starve to death. 
At one time they had but 
one pint of corn left, which 
was dealt out with great 
care, and each one of the 
band had five grains. 

Yet, hard as was their 
lot, these brave men were 
full of faith, and hope, and 
trust in God. At the end 
of four years the Pu-ri-tans 



were in strong^ force in 
Mas- sa - chu - setts, where 
they built towns, and ships, 
and sowed laro^e fields of 
corn and built mills to 
grind it. 

One band made their 
way to a place which they 
called Bos-ton, as that was 
the name of the town in 
Ene-land from which the 
most of them had come. 
One band made their home 
on the coast, and gave to 
the place the name of 
Sa-lem. 



^ <■ » <» ^ 



CHAPTER V. 



WARS WITH THE RED MEN. 



At first the red men, 
or In-di-ans, were good 
friends with the whites, or 
Pu-ri-tans as they were 
now called ; and brought 



them furs, and game, and 
fish, in change for hoes 
and cloth and such things. 
The whites were kind to 
them and they were kind 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



47 



to the whites. But this 
state of things did not last 
long. It made the red 
man's eye flash to see the 
white smoke curl up from 
the homes that were built 
on the ground where he 
and his brave men had 
been wont to meet and call 
their own. In the long 
cold nio^hts as the red men 
sat round their camp fires 
they had hard thoughts 
of those who had laid out 
farms, and raised fine crops, 
and were so well off; and 
they laid plans to pounce 
on these homes of the white 
men some dark night, kill 
them in their beds, and 
seize their corn, their tools, 
and their warm clothes. 

These bad thoughts took 
deep root in the hearts of 
the fi.erce tribe of Pe-quods 
who dwelt on the banks of 



a stream, now known as 
the Thames, on which, if 
you look on the map of 
Con-nec-ti-cut, you will see 
there is the town of New 
Lon-don. 

A slio^ht thino^ broug^ht 
on the war, which broke 
out in 1637. The Pe-quods 
had a thirst for blood. The 
new homes were laid waste, 
no one felt safe. Fire and 
death met the white men 
in the fields, in their beds, 
in church or at home. 

Some of the chiefs tried 
to get the Nar-ra-gan-sets 
to form a league, and kill 
all the white men in the 
land. The scheme came 
to the ears of Rog-er Wil- 
li-ams, and he set out with 
no one with him to see the 
head chief of the Nar-ra- 
gan-sets. 

There he met the Pe- 



48 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



quod chiefs with the white 
man's blood still thick on 
their knives. They glared 
at Wil-li-ams, as if to tell 
him to look out for his 
scalp. But he had no fear 
of them. He sat down by 
his old friends Ca-non-i-cus 
and Mi-an-to-ni-mah, who 
had once saved his life in 
the woods, and was as calm 
as if he had been in his 
own house. 

Three days and three 
nights he staid in the camp 
of the Nar-ra-gan-sets, and 
plead the cause of those 
who had sent him out of 
Bos-ton. Each night when 
he lay down to sleep he 
knew that he might be put 
to death by the Pe-quods. 
But his trust was in God, 
and he thought not of self 

On the fourth day the 
Nar-ra-gan-sets made up 



their minds that they would 
not join the Pe-quods. 
Rog-er Wil-Ii-ams went 
home with a glad heart, 
while the Pe-quod chiefs 
with fierce scowls slunk 
back to their tribe. 

At the mouth of the 
Thames were the two chief 
forts of the Pe-quods, and 
these the men of Con-nect- 
ti-cut made up their minds 
lay low. They were but 
four score men and the Pe- 
quods were a large and 
fierce tribe. But the rage 
of the white men was great; 
their hearts were on fire. 
They had seen their friends 
killed and scalped, or borne 
to a fate worse than death, 
and day and night were in 
dread of a raid from these 
Pe-quods, whom they meant 
to show how white men 
could fight. Their plan 




T H L PILGRIMS F I G H T i i\ G THE INDIANS 



THE HISTORY OF THE EXITED STATES. 



49 



was to sail down the coast j they were six to one at 



past the mouth of the 
Thames, to land far up to 
the east and then march 
to the forts. 

The Pe-quods saw them 
sail past, and at first did 
not know what to make 
of it. They made up* their 
minds that the white men 
were scared, and set up 



least, the fight was fierce 
and much blood was shed. 
At last Ma-son cried out 
"We must burn them!" 
seized a fire-brand and 
thrust it in the dry mats of 
which the walls were made, 
and soon the whole fort 
was in a blaze, Choked 
and dazed by the smoke. 



but Ma-son had raneed his 
troops on all sides, and 
when a red man showed 



loud shouts and songs that i the Pe-quods tried to fly, 

were heard at Ma-son's 

camp. 

Long ere it was day on 
this May morn the dogs | his head he was shot down, 
at the Pe-quod fort were | When the rest of the 
heard to bark and howl. \ Pe-quods came down from 
A cry went through the their fort, and saw what 
fort that the Eng-lish were the white men had done, 
at hand. As soon as it was j they were in a great rage 
light the white men sent j and made a rush at Ma-son 
their fire of shot at the red j to kill him. But a charge 
men's fort. The red men | of shot from the 
made good use of their men's 



^5 

white 



guns 



[rove 



th 



em 



bows and clubs ; and as | back, and they fled to the 



so 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



woods. Troops came up 
from Mas-sa-chu-setts, and 
the Nar-ra-gan-set tribe lent 
their aid to the white men. 
The Pe-quods found no 
place of rest, for the white 
men kept close on their 
track, and in a short time 
there was not a Pe-quod to 
be found in all the land. 

But you must not think 
that this brought to an end 
the wars with the red men. 
It takes a deep wound a 
long while to heal ; and in 
the year 1675 a great war 
broke out, which is known 
as King Phil-ip's war. 

It made King Phil-ip's 
heart swell with rage to see 
the white men drive back 
the In-di-ans and take their 
land as if the red men had 
no right to it. He laid a 
plot to get all the tribes to 
join, and fall on the white 



men and kill them. A red 
man ran in to one of the 
towns and told of this plot 
to the white men, and put 
them on their guard, and 
one night three of his tribe 
caught and killed him. 
These three In-di-ans were 
caught by some of the 
white men of Ply-mouth, 
tried by law, and hung for 
their crime. Phil-ip and 
his tribe could not bear 
this, and it brought on the 
war for which some think 
the whites were as much to 
blame as the reds. 

Troops on horse and on 
foot went out of Bos-ton 
and Ply-mouth to aid the 
men in the small towns 
where King Phil-ip and 
his tribe had done much 
harm, and they kept close 
on the track of the red 
men. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



51 



King Phil-ip fled to a 
swamp to get out of the 
way of the troops. When 
the white men came to the 
swamp they saw no one, 
but they sent a shot each 
time they heard a noise or 
saw a bush shake, and in 
this way hurt some of their 
own friends. When night 
came on they formed a 
rino- on the out side of the 
swamp, and made sure they 
would catch Phil-ip as soon 
as it was liofht. When the 
morn came he had gone 
with all his friends ; no one 
knew where. 

The next thing the white 
men heard was that the 
red-skins wei'e at North- 
field and Deer-field. There 
was not a place in New 
Enor-land that was safe 
from the raids of the red 
men who had set out to 



kill the whites and to burn 
down their homes. 

In the dead of nig^ht 
when all was still the fierce 
war-whoop of the red-skins 
would ring out from the 
woods. Soon a gleam of 
flame would burst from 
some house they had set 
on fire ; then with yells and 
shouts the wild crew would 
leap in on those whom they 
had brought, with a start, 
out of their sleep, and 
scalp them in their beds. 

Some times when a white 
man went to the door of 
his house, and saw no foe 
in sight, a shot from an In- 
di-an hid by a tree would 
lay him low. Or he would 
leave his house to go to 
the field, hear a scream at 
his back, and find his wife 
and babes dead on the 
floor. 



52 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



No one could feel safe. 

To add to the fears of 
the white men, strange 
siij^hts were seen in the 
skies. Some saw large 
stars with long bright tails, 
which they thought were 
like In-di-anson horse back. 
Some said they had seen 
a lonor briijht sword in the 
sky; and an In-di-an bow 
in the clouds ; and a long 
scalp that fell from the 
north star. Then it seemed, 
too, as though the howl of 
the wolves came up close 
to their homes in the dead 
hour of the night, so that 
their flesh crept with fear. 

In threat crowds the 
whites left their farms and 
trades, and came to the laree 
towns where they felt more 
safe. Thev thoucfht their 
sins had brought on the 
war and all its ills. One 



of their great sins was that 
they wore long hair! They 
thought this did not please 
God, so they cut off their 
hair, and then set to work 
to do all they could to 
harm the poor Oua-kers, 
to whom for some time 
they had been quite kind. 

All this would have 
been of no use if they had 
not sent out a. large force 
of troops to fight the red 
men in their swamps. They 
were led by Jo-si-ah Wms- 
low. He went straight to 
where the Nar-ra-gan-sets 
were. It was in the heart 
of a swamp. A thick 
hedge shut them in. There 
was but on'e way to get 
throuo^h it and in the fort, 
and for three hours the 
Ene-lish tried to force their 
way through this small 
space. At last a few of 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



53 



the whites broke throuo^h 
a part of the hedge and 
fought the red men from 
the rear, and so won the 
day. Some of the red men 
fled in great haste to the 
woods. Some staid in the 
fort and were burnt to 
death when the white men 
set it on fire. Some lost 
their way in the deep snow 
drifts and soon froze to 
death. 

The '* Swamp Fight" did 
not brinor the red men to 
terms. In a few weeks 
they were at their old work, 
with hearts of hate and 



catch him. He was a tall 
strong man, and they had 
hard work to keep on his 
track. But at last his foot 
slipped and he was caught. 
The whites tried to make 
friends with him, and to 
coax him to make terms of 
peace, and to give up some 
of his tribe who had done 
the most harm. But he 
said he would not be at 
peace with the white men, 
and would not give up to 
them one of the red men. 

"We will fight to the last 
man," he said. "We will 
not be slaves of the white 



hands swift to do deeds of men." 



blood. Some white men 
from Con-nec-ti-cut heard 
one day that the chief Ca- 
non-chet, the son of Mi-an- 
to-ni-mah, of whom you 
have heard, was near at 



The Q^reat chief was then 
led forth to be shot. He 
was told he might live if 
he would be at peace with 
the whites. This he would 
not do. He chose to die. 



hand, and they set out to|"I like it well," he said in 



54 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



his quaint speech. " Now 
my heart is not soft, and I 
have said no words that 
would hurt the pride of 
an In-di-an chief It is 
the time for me to die." 
Two red men took him to 
the woods and shot him, 
and his head was sent to 
Hart-ford. 

Still there were no signs 
of peace. 

All this while King Phil- 
ip was in the north, by the 
great lakes, where he had 
gone to try to get the tribes 
there to help his cause. 
But they had a great fear 
of the white men, and 
would not join Phil-ip, so 
he came back to his own 
land. One of his braves 
told him that the whites 
were sure to win, and urged 
Phil-ip to make terms of 
peace. The proud chief 



struck him dead with a 
blow from the small axe he 
bore. There could be no 
peace, he said, twixt the 
white men and the red. 

But King Phil-ip lost 
heart when he saw the 
great tribes forced to make 
terms of peace. Most of 
his own brave men were 
dead, and he had to fly for 
his life. He laid in swamps, 
and hid in caves and dense 
woods as he tried to creep 
back to his old home. On 
the way he heard that his 
wife had been killed, and 
his young son sold as a 
slave, and in his great grief 
he cried out "My heart 
breaks! Now let me die!" 

King Phil-ip was shot as 
he lay hid in a swamp, by 
one of his own men, and 
with his own gun. 

This brought the war to 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



55 



a close, which had been 
kept up for more than a 
year, and drove the red 
men quite out of New 



Eng-land. 



I must now zo back a 
ways and tell you how the 
Dutch came to find their 
way to A-mer-i-ca. Cap- 
tain John Smith, of whom 
you have heard so much, 
had a friend, named Hen- 
ry Hud -son, who went 
with him on his first trip 
to Vir-gin-ia. He thought, 
as Co-lum-bus did, that 
there must be a short cut 
to Chi-na and the East In- 
dies rio[-ht throuo-h A-mer- 
i-ca. There were no maps 
in those days to show the 
length and breadth of the 
land, and so it is not strange 
that men thought queer 
thinofs. 



But the Dutch were 
rich, and their ships were 
on all the seas, and as they 
thought it would be a fine 
thing to be the first to find 
out a short cut to Chi-na, 
they gave Hud-son a yacht 
called the Half Moon, in 
which he set sail for A-mer- 
i-ca. He took a new route, 
and when he came to 
Sandy- Hook, he was sure 
he had found the short cut 
he was in search of. He 
came up the Bay of New 
York and saw both shores 
green with grass and trees, 
and sweet scents were borne 
to him on each breeze. Red 
men came out to meet him, 
and sold him beans, and 
corn, and shell fish, and 
seemed glad to see the 
white men. Hud-son sailed 
up the stream which bears 
his name, but soon found 



56 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



it was not the right way 
to get to Chi-na, and the 
Half Moon had to turn 
back. 

Then the Eng-hsh gave 
him a ship, and this time 
he took a course that 



wide sea. That is the last 
that is known of this brave 
man. 

But he had told the 
Dutch what a fine land he 
had seen when he went in 
the Half-Moon, and they 



brought him to what is | at once sent ships to the 

spot and set up a trade in 
furs. It is said that they 
bought their furs by the 
pound, and as they had no 



now known as Hud-son's 
Bay. He felt that he was 
riorht at last. But he sailed 
round and round the shores 
of the bay, and found there 
was but one way to get 
in or out. His ship froze 
fast irk the ice, and had to 
stay there till spring. The 
crew blamed Hud-son for 
the hard life they had had 
in that cold place; so on 
the way back these bad 
men, who were worse than 
brutes, put him and his 
boy and eight more men 
in a small boat, and left 
them to drift on the wide. 



weights such as are in use 
in these days, they told the 
In-di-ans that a Dutch 
man's hand weighed just 
one pound, and his foot two. 
And the red men thought 
it must be so. This may 
not be true, but it is a fact 
that the Dutch rave a few 
beads and things of no 
worth, for a large lot of rich 
furs which they could sell 
at a high price. When they 
saw a piece of land they 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



57 



liked they bought it, and and they made the In-di- 
gave the In-dl-ans a string ans drunk, and that was 
of beads, or a bit of gay j the chief cause of the wars 
silk, or a pipe for it. They that took place. The rum 
went all round the coast made brutes of the red 
to see if there were furs to | men. The Dutch had to 
sell, and if they found a fly from the north. Their 



good place to trade they 
put up a small fort, and 
left some one there to buy 
from the In-di-ans. 

In a few years men left 
their farms in Hol-land and 
came to New York, which 
was then known as New 
Am-ster-dam. The}^ had 
their farms in the woods 
and swamps where Broad- 
way now is, and let their 
cows and pigs run wild 
where the Cit-y Hall now 
stands. 

The Dutch did not love 
to fight, but they were too 
fond o^ beer for their own 
good. They got drunk. 



homes were burned down. 
Great tracts of land were 
laid waste. 

For long years this state 
of things was kept up, and 
the Dutch had such a hard 
time that there is no doubt 
they wished they were back 
in Hol-land. 

At the south end of 
Man-hat-tan a small band 
of Dutch men, with old 
Pe-ter Stuy-ve-sant at their 
head, kept the red men at 
bay. For a while they 
had things their own way ; 
but in 1673 the Duke of 
York came from Eng-land 
and laid claim to New 



58 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



Am-ster-dam, which since 
that time has been known 
as New York. 

The old In-di-an name 



of Man-hat-tan, was Maji- 
a- hack -tan- i-enks, which 
means " the place where 
they all get drunk." 



CHAPTER VI. 



TWO MEN OF PEACE. 



The wars in the new 
and the old world were 
much talked of by old and 
young, and it was strange 
to hear of a boy who did 
not love to fiorht. Bad 
kings made bad laws, and 
good men found it hard to 
live in these days. Some 
of those who loved peace, 
and not war, formed a sect 
known as Oua-kers or 
"Friends." 

These "Friends" had 
their own views of what 
was right and wrong, and 



were not much thought of 
in Eng-land at that time. 
They were bold in their 
speech, and though they 
thought it wrong to fight, 
thought it much worse to 
tell a lie. 

Wil-liam Penn, the son 
of a rich man, was one of 
them. The king was in 
his debt, and to pay him 
rave Penn a tract of land 
in A-mer-i-ca, part of which 
was the home of Swedes 
who had bouQ^ht it from the 
red men. Here Penn came 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



59 



to found a State where men 
could be free and live in 
peace. The^ were to make 
their own laws, and live up 
to them. Penn was just 
and kind with the red men, 
and soon made them his 
friends. He met the chief 
men of the tribes by a 
great elm-tree, where Phil- 
a-del-phia now is, and there 
made terms of " good faith 
and good will." Strong 
in truth and love he bent 
the fierce tribes of the Del- 
a-ware to his will. They 
vowed to live in love with 
Penn and his " Friends" as 
long as the moon and sun 
should last. And both 
sides kept their vows. 

The fame of Penn and 
his men went to all lands. 
Grave and good men from 
all parts sought the home 
made for them in the New 



World. In three years 
Phil-a-del-phia was a large 
town, and the "Friends" 
there grew rich and wise 
and strong. 

Some of the New Engf- 
land States did not treat 
the "Friends" well. Those 
who went to preach the 
word of the Lord there 
were sent back. Some were 
hung, some were whipped, 
some had their ears cut off 
But the Qua-kers had 
friends at home, friends 
who stood near the kino^. 
The king took their part, 
and sent word to New Enof- 
land that this kind of war 
must stop at once. Since 
that time A-mer-i-cans have 
claimed the right to think 
as they choose, and to 
praise God as they please, 
and the Qua-kers are known 
all through the world as 



6o 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the true friends of love 
and peace. 

I will tell you here of a 
wise man who was born in 
Bos-ton, and went on foot 
to Phil-a-del-phia when 
quite a lad. He was a poor 
boy, and had to work hard. 
He kept a shop where he 
sold ink and quill -pens, 
rags, soap, and such things. 
He bound books. He had 
a small hand - press, and 
knew how to set type so 
that he could print all the 
news of the day. This was 
his trade, of which he was 
so fond that he kept at it 
till he grew to be quite 
rich. He had not the least 
bit of mean pride or false 
shame. 

As a boy he was fond of 
books and thought a great 
deal on what he read. This 
made him a wise man. 



whom it was safe to trust. 
He had thought for some 
time that the light that 
went with a flash through 
the sky could be made of 
use. So one day when 
there was a fierce storm he 
sent up a kite with a key 
tied to its string. He saw 
a spark come from the key, 
and knew that what he had 
thought out in his own 
mind was quite true. You 
will learn as you read on 
how that which he found 
out was put to great use, 
and how much A-mer-i-ca 
owes to Ben-ja-min Frank- 
lin. His great good sense 
made him a man of mark 
in his own time, and is the 
chief cause of the fame he 
has in these days. 

The Swedes, who made 
their home in Phil-a-del- 
phia, were in great fear of 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



6i 



the In-di-ans whose ways, 
speech, and dress were all 
so strange that they could 
not hope to make friends 
with them. The white men 
felt that they must be on 
guard all the time, or the 
foe would come and drive 
them out of the place. But 
one day it chanced that all 
the men Swedes went off 
to the woods and left their 
wives at home. It was 
soft-soap day; and I guess, 
if the truth were known, 
that was just why the men 
went off at that time. 

The great pots were on 
the fire, and the soap was 
just at a boil, when word 
came that the In-di-ans 
were close at hand. What 
was to be done ? They had 
no guns with which to fire 
on the foe, and no help was 
near. They ran with all 



speed to the church, that 
was built like a block-house, 
and took with them the 
soap that was as hot as 
fire and lye could make it. 
They made the door fast, 
and the red men, who knew 
how few and how weak 
they were, thought it would 
be no task to seize the 
"white squaws." So they 
stole up to the church, and 
as soon as they came near 
the "white squaws" slung 
out the soft-soap so that 
it went in their eyes and 
made them howl and dance 
in a queer kind of a way. 
The red men were scared 
by this kind of hot shot, 
and ran off as fast as they 
could go ; and I guess the 
white men had a good 
laugh when they came 
home and heard how brave 
their wives had been. 



62 



THE HISTORV OF THE EXITED STATES. 



CHAPTER VII. 



FRENCH AND I N-D I-A N WARS. 



The wars in the old 
world brought on wars in 
the new, and in 1754 the 
Ene-lish tried to drive the 
French from the lands they 
held in the New World. 
The French said they would 
keep that which they had 
found and had a right to, 
if they had to fight for it. 
So they built new forts, 
made their old ones more 
strong, and called the red 
men to their aid. The red 
men did not stand and 
fight as white men are 
taught to do, but hid near 
trees and rocks, or shot at 
the troops from shrubs or 
thick woods. 

Gen-er-al Brad-dock, 



who was a brave man, 
would not let his troops 
fight in that way, so that 
they had the worst of 
it. 

The first (jreat fiorfit with 
the French took place at 
Fort Du Quesne [kaize] 
where Pitts- buror now 
stands. The fort was built 
of the trunks of trees, and 
near it were rude huts in 
which the French troops 
lived. Here and there was 
a patch of wheat or corn, 
which orrew well in the 
rich soil. 

Brad-dock had no doubt 
the fort would yield to him 
as soon as he came near it. 
So he led his men on 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



63 



through a road twelve feet 
wide with high ground in 
front and on both sides. 
Soon a war-whoop burst 
from the woods. The troops 
were shot down by a foe 
they could not see. For 
three hours the fio^ht was 
kept up. Then the men 
broke ranks and fled. Brad- 
dock had a bad wound. 
"Who would have thought 
it?" he said in a low voice, 
as his men bore him from 
the field he was so sure 
he would win. These were 
the last words he spoke, 
and he died in two or three 
days. 

He had been warned by 
such wise men as George 
Wash -ino^- ton and Ben- 
ja-min Frank-lin, but he 
gave no heed to their 
words, and so met his fate. 
Up to this time Eng-land 



and France had been at 
peace. Now they were at 
strife, and the flames of 
war spread far and wide. 
Blood w^as shed on land 
and on sea, and hearts were 
full of woe. Brit-ish troops 
were sent to A-mer-i-ca to 
fight the French there. 
Que-bec was one of the 
strong points held by the 
French. To this place came 
a fleet in charge of Gen-e- 
ral Wolfe. 

There were two towns, 
one on the beach, and one 
on the cliff. Wolf fired 
bomb-shells at the town on 
the beach, which was soon 
laid low. The town on the 
cliff' was too far off for him 
to reach in this way. At 
last he hit on a plan so bold 
that the French did not 
dream of it. The shore for 
miles and miles was searched 



64 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



with care. A spot was 
found whence a path wound 
up to the chff. At this point 
Wolfe could land his men 
and lead them to the Heights 
of A-bra-ham. Once there 
they would turn out the 
French, take Oue-bec, or 
die where they stood. 

At night the troops went 
down the stream in boats 
to the place known as 
Wolfe's Cave. All through 
the night they scaled the 
tall cliffs, and with the aid 
of the ship's crew drew up 
a few euns. When it was 
light, the whole force was 
drawn up on the plain. As 
soon as he could, Mont- 
calm went out with his 
French troops to meet the 
Brit-ish. The fio^ht was 
fierce on both sides but did 
not last long. The French 
were put to flight. 



Both Mont -calm and 
Wolfe fell in the strife. 
While Wolfe lay on the 
ground he heard some one 
say: — 

"They fly! they fly!" 

"Who fly?" said he. 

"The French," they told 
him. 

"Then^ said the brave 
man, "I die in peace;" and 
he died. 

The French lost heart 
when they lost Que-bec, 
and the lonof war was closed 
in 1763. The King of 
France gave up all right 
to the lands he had laid 
claim to in that part of the 
New World, and no one 
but King George could 
make laws that should rule 
A-mer-i-ca. 

In all parts of A-mer-i- 
ca the French were ill-used 
by the Brit-ish king. They 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



65 



were torn from their homes 
and friends, and some of 
them were left to die on 
a cold, bleak coast, where 
they were told to wait for 
the ships to take them back 
to their own dear France. 

It is said that an I-rish- 
man, named John-son, 
wrote to Eng-land of the 
brave way in which he 
had fouofht the French at 
Crown Point. He was not 
a brave man at all and 
there were those in New 
Eng-land who knew that 
he had not told the whole 
truth. But in Old Eng- 
land they thought it must 
be true, and he was made 
Sir Wil-liam John-son, and 
had more praise than was 
his due. He was a vain 
man and fond of fine 
clothes, and was quite proud 
of the rich suits that were 



sent him from Eng-land, all 
trimmed with lace as was 
the style in those days. 

A Mo-hawk chief* saw 
these gay clothes, and 
thought how much he 
should like to own them. 
He went up to Sir Wil-li- 
am, and said he had had 
a dream. 

"Ah?" said Sir Wil-li- 
am, '' and what did you 
dream ? " 

*' I dreamt that you gave 
me one of those rich suits 
of clothes." 

John-son was as shrewd 
as the In-di-an. He took 
one of the fine suits and 
gave it to the chief, who 
went off' much pleased. 

In a few days John-son 
met the chief, and said to 
him. 

" By-the-by, I have had 
a dream." 



66 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



"Ah!" said the In-di-an, 
"what was it?" 

"Why, that you gave me 
that tract of land," a fine 
larofe tract on the Mo-hawk 
Riv-er. 



The In-di-an saw how he 
was caught. But he gave 
the land, and said, with a 
sigh, "I dream no more 
with you. Sir Wil-li-am, 
you dream too hard." 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE CAUSE OF A GREAT WAR. 



Those who sat on thrones 
thought that they had the 
best ri^ht to make laws 
and to rule men. But the 
men who came to the New 
World had come to be free 
from the hard laws that 
kings made. It did not 
suit them to be at the beck 
and call of those who were 
not wise or good, and they 
found in their new homes 
that it was best for them to 
make their own laws. They 



must have free speech as 
well as free air. They said 
the kino^'s laws were not 
just. The war with France 
had cost a great deal, and 
Kinof Georo^e said it was 
but right that the men in 
A-mer-i-ca should pay it 
back. So he made a law 
that no note, bond, or deed 
was orood that had not the 
king's seal on it. 

The "Stamp Act" was 
passed in 1765. The A- 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



67 



mer-i-cans thouo^ht it a 
mean trick to make them 



so ^it-ish- nip 



paid, and 

loads of troops 1^^ ^£^ that 
pay a tax in this way, and I his will was done. Three 
they said they would not pence on a pound did not 
use the stamps at all. They j seem much of a tax, and 
got up a "strike," just as , had it been a just tax it 
men do now- a- days when ! would have been paid, 
laws do not please them. The troops came to all 
and made such a stir that the larg^e towns, which 



were soon filled with red- 
coats, who had to be fed 
and cared for by the men 
who could not but hate the 
siofht of them. Mobs met 
in the streets, and there 
was now and then a fight 
with the king's troops. This 
was in the year 1770. In 
March of that year the 
mob grew too bold, and 
bore so hard on the king's 
troops that the troops had 
to fire on the crowd. Ten 
or more were killed, and 
blood stained the snow and 
that this tax should be | ice that lay in the streets. 



the king said they need not 
be bound by the "Stamp 
Act." 

This gave them great joy, 
but it did not last long. 
They made up their minds 
they would not eat, drink, 
or wear the least thing 
that came from Eng-land. 
When the king found they 
would not buy goods that 
had a tax on them, he was 
wise and took it off But 
one tax he left; and that 
was the tax on tea. The 
king made up his mind 



68 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



This^h 



le "Bos-ton Mas- 

t was • L 1 

sa-cre which made our 

men hate the king and all 

his laws still more than 

they had done. 

One day ships that were 
known to have tea on board 
showed their tall masts in 
the bay. It was Sun-day 
and the men of Bos-ton 
were strict in their views, 
and did no work on the 
Lord's-day. But old rules 
had to give way to this 
new case, which must be 
met at once. 

Sam-u-el Ad-ams was 
the true kinof of Bos-ton 
at that time. He was the 
first to see what must be 
done. "We are free," 
he said, "and want no 

kine !" 

Men were wild with 
rage. If the ships came 
to land, the tea would be 



sold ! What must be done? 
All talk was vain. Ad-ams 
stood up in the church and 
told them if they would 
be free, now was the time 
to strike the blow. With 
a wild shout the men ran 
out of the church. Some 
of them, drest to look like 
In-di-ans, went in great 
haste to the wharf, each 
one with an axe in his 
hand. They went on board 
the ships, brought the chests 
of tea on deck, broke them 
up and threw them in the 
bay. 

So still was the crowd 
that not a sound was heard 
but the stroke of the axe, 
and the splash of the chests 
as they fell in the sea. 
This is what A-mer-i-ca 
did. It was for Eng-land 
to make the next move. 

The king said that no 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



69 



kind of goods should be 
sent to Bos-ton. This did 
more harm than good, as 
it showed the men there 



how mean the Brit-ishwere. 
They would have to fight 
to get free from such men, 
and such laws. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE FIRST FIGHT. 



When our men saw that 
the kino^ meant to force 
them to do as he said and 
to keep his laws, they went 
to work to learn the art 
of war. They were led by 
wise and good men. 

The first fight took place 
at Lex-ing-ton in Mas-sa- 
chu-setts in the spring of 

1775- 

Gen-er-al Gage who had 

charge of the king's troops, 

had heard that a lot of 

guns and things that were 

used in war, were stored in 



Con-cord, a few miles from 
Bos-ton. He would seize 
them in the king's name, 
and he thoug^ht that not a 
hint had got out of what he 
meant to do. 

But sharp men were on 
the watch. Gen-er-al War- 
ren, who fell at Bun-ker 
Hill, at once sent Paul Reu- 
vere to spread the news. 
He rode like the wind 
through Bos-ton, and then 
took a boat to Charles-town. 
He was none too soon. 
Gen-er-al Gage heard that 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



his plans had been found 
out, and at once sent word 
that no one should leave 
Bos-ton. It was too late. 
A small band of men in 
their farm clothes met the 
red-coats on the field of 
Lex-ing-ton, but were told 
by John Par-ker who led 
them that they should not 
be the first to fire. 

Ma-jor Pit-cairn rode up, 
and with an oath bade the 
king's troops to fire at once, 
and his g^un sent the first 
shot at those brave men, 
who did not fear to die in 
so just a cause. 

No Eno;-lish blood was 
shed. Cheer on cheer went 
up from the ranks of the 
red-coats who took up their 
march to Con-cord, which is 
six miles from Lex-inof-ton. 

Our men had left their 
farms and were drawn up 



on a hill, from whence they 
could see all that was done 
by the foe. The red-coats 
held the bridge, while some 
of their men went this way 
and that to search for the 
guns and such things that 
were kept at Con-cord. But 
these had all been hid 
where the red-coats could 
not find them. The men 
on the hill kept a close 
watch, and soon they saw 
a cloud of smoke rise from 
the spot where their homes 
were. The lives of those 
they held most dear were 
at stake. What could they 
do ? The wolf was in the 
fold where their lambs were ! 
With hearts on fire the 
brave men fell in line, went 
down the hill, and took the 
road that led to the bridge. 
They were charged not to 
fire the first shot. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



71 



As soon as the red-coats 
saw them they went to 
work to tear jjp the planks 
of the bridge. Our men 
made more haste. Then 



as they ran, so that they 
had no chance to rest. 

The day was hot, the 
march long, and they had 
had to work hard, and with 



the king's -troops fired, at I no food. Fresh troops, led 
first one or two shots, | by Lord Per-cy, were sent 



which did no harm. Then 
a few more by which two 
men were hurt ; then a 
fierce charge, and two of 
our men fell dead. 

"Fire! For God's sake, 
fire!" cried Ma-jor John 
But-trick, of Con-cord, as 
he gave a wild leap in the 
air. His men did not wait. 
The fight was a short and 
sharp one. The red-coats 
had to give up the bridge, 
and make their way back 
to Bos-ton. They met with 



from Bos-ton to their aid, 
and met them near the 
place where they had shot 
down our men that morn 
and it is said, that when 
they lay down to rest "their 
tongues hung out of their 
mouths like those of a doe 
who has had a hard chase." 
The news rane through 
the land that blood had 
been spilt. Men on horse- 
back rode hard through 
high-ways and by-ways to 
spread the tale. All men 



great loss in the fight; some ! felt that the hour had come, 



of their best men were 
killed, and they were shot 
at all the way on the road 



and in all the States there 
was a rush to arms. 

Down in Con-nec-ti-cut 



72 



THE HISTORY IF THE UNITED STATES. 



there was an old man at 
work in the field with his 
plough. His name wa?' Is- 
ra-el Put-nam. He had 
fought with the red men in 
his young days, and had 
been near death at their 
hands. Once he had been 
bound to a tree, and the 
In-di-ans had their arms 
up to strike the blow that 
would kill him, when he 
was found by some of his 
friends who had gone out 
in search of him, and his 
life was saved. 

As the old man drove 
his plough through the field 
some one told him of the 
fiofht ai Lex-ino--ton. He 
took his horse from the 
plough, sent word home 
that he had gone to Bos- 
ton, and rode with all speed 
to the A-mer-i-can camp. 

On a neck of land, close 



by Bos -ton, there are two 
low hills, one known as 
Bun-ker Hill, and one as 
Breed's Hill. Our men 
made up their minds to 
fight the Brit-ish from this 
point. There was no time 
to lose. It was said that 
Gen-er-al Gage meant to 
put a large force of his men 
on the heights on the i8th 
of June. He was too late. 
On the 1 6th, just ere the 
sun went down in the west, 
our men met on Cam-bridge 
Com-mon to ask God to 
bless them in what they 
had planned to do. 

Col-o-nel {kur7tel) Pres- 
cott, who had fought in the 
wars with the French, was 
in charge of our troops ; 
and Put-nam was with him, 
to be of use where he 
could. 

With hearts that were 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITh^ ^>'ATES. 



11 



brave to do and die, the j went back and forth on the 
men set forth on their top of the earth-works. It 



march. Not a word was ' was Pres-cott. 

said. Their feet scarce 

made a sound. Their way 

led them near the guns of 

the Eng-hsh ships, but they 

were not seen or heard. 



^'Will he fight?" asked 



Gage 



The night was warm and 
still. They reach the hill- 
top. How swift they work 
to build their fort of earth 
and logs ! With what care 
they must use their spades, 
lest one stroke on a stone 
should tell the tale, and 
spoil all ! 

When Gen-er-al Gage 
looked out on the heights 
the next day at dawn, he 



of one who stood 
near by. "Yes, sir," said 
the man to whom he spoke, 
''to the last drop of his 
blood ! " 

A plan was made at 
once. The Brit-ish were to 
march straight up the hill 
and drive off the A-mer- 
i-cans. It was not thought 
that our men could stand 
the shock, as it was well 
known they were more 
used to peace than to war, 
and had but few guns and 
balls to fio-ht with. At 



saw strone earth-works, and I noon the red-coats left Bos- 

. i . 

swarms of men in arms, ; ton in their small boats, 

where he had been wont and were soon at Charles- 

to see a broad sweep of town. The A-mer-i-cans 

green grass on which no kept a close watch on them 

foot had trod.. A tall form | from the hill-top, and felt 



74 



THE fJSTTORV OF THE UXITED STATES. 



no fear. From all the 
heiehts In the rancre of 
Bos-ton, on hills, house-tops, 
and church spires, crowds 
of A-mer-i-cans stood to 
watch the fight. 

It was no light task for 
the Brit-ish to climb that 
hill. The day was hot, the 
grass was long and thick, 
and the load each man bore 
made his step slow. While 
yet a long way off the red- 
coats fired their guns as if 
to wake up the foe. Not 
a shot came back from the 
A-mer-i-can lines. "Aim 
low," said Put-nam, "and 
wait till you see the whites 
of their eyes." 

The Eng-lish were quite 
near the works when Pres- 
cott told his men to fire. 
The A-mer-i-cans could 
shoot to a hair's breadth. 
Their aim was true, and 



when they fired not a shot 
missed its mark. Men fell 
from the Brit-ish ranks by 
scores. The troops fled 
down the hill. Then with 
fresh strength they climb 
the heights, to be sent back 
with ereat loss. Now at 
the foot of the hill they 
strip off their great coats, 
that they may have a hand- 
to-hand fight. Up they go 
and climb the walls that 
they may take the fort. 
The A-mer-i-cans met them 
with stones and the butt- 
ends of their guns but the 
Brit-ish were too strong for 
them. They soon drove 
the brave band down the 
hill, and made them cross 
the neck to Cam-bridge, 
while the Eng-lish ships 
raked them with grape- 
shot as they ran. They had 
done their work. It was 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



75 



true the red-coats had won 
the day; but our men had 
found out that with the 
help of some sHght field- 
works, green hands, fresh 
from the farm or field, who 
had had no chance to drill, 
were a match for the best 
troops that Eng-land could 
send. 

I will tell you here of 
two brave deeds done by 
Is-ra-el Put-nam. For a 
long time he, and those 
who dwelt near him, had 
been ill used by a fierce 
wolf, which at night would 
kill their sheep and goats, 
and lambs and kids. Put- 
nam made a plan for five 
men to take turns and hunt 
the wolf till they could take 
her life. It was known 
that she had lost two of her 
toes in a steel trap, and so 
made one short track and 



one long one. By this they 
could trace her course in 
the light snow. At last 
they drove her to a den 
three miles from Put-nam's 
house. The folks from all 
round, came with dogs, 
guns, straw, and fire to 
fight this fierce foe, and to 
force her from the den. 
From ten at morn till ten 
at night they kept at work. 
The hounds came back 
with bad wounds, and ran 
as far as they could from 
the old wolf's teeth. 

Put-nam tried to make 
his dog go in the cave, but 
in vain. He asked his 
black man to go down and 
shoot the wolf; but the 
black man would not. Then 
the brave man said, with a 
flash of his eye, that if no 
one else would go he would, 
for he feared the wolf would 



76 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



run off through some hole 
in the rocks. 

He took some strips of 
birch bark that he might 
have Hght in the deep dark 
cave, and scare the wolf as 
well, for wild beasts shrink 
from the sight of fire. Then 
he threw off his coat and 
vest, tied a long rope to his 
legs, by which he might be 
pulled back when he gave 
the sign, and with a torch 
m his hand went head first 
in the den. The place was 
as still as the orrave. He 
crept on his hands till he 
came face to face with the 
great red eye-balls of the 
wolf, who sat at the end of 
the cave. At the si^ht of 
fire she gnashed her teeth, 
and rave a low orrowl. 

o o 

As soon as Put- nam 
found out where the beast 
was he eave a kick and 



was at once drawn out of 
the cave. Those at the 
mouth of the den had 
heard the orrowl and thouo^ht, 
of course, that the wolf had 
sprung at their friend and 
would eat him up. They 
drew him out so fast that 
his clothes were torn from 
his back, and his flesh was 
much bruised. Put -nam 
set his clothes right, put a 
charge of nine buck-shot 
in his gun, and with that 
in his right hand and a 
torch in his left, he went 
once more in the den. As 
he drew near the wolf she 
snapped her teeth, put her 
head down, and crouched 
to spring when Put-nam 
raised his gun took a sure 
aim, and fired. Stunned 
with the shock, and choked 
by the smoke, he was at 
once drawn out to the fresh 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



77 



air. When he had had 
some rest, and the smoke 
was out of the cave, he 
went down for the third 
time. Once more he came 
in sight of the wolf He 
put the torch to her nose. 
She did not move. Then 
he knew she was dead ; so 



he took hold of her ears, 
gave the rope a kick, for 
it was still tied round his 
legs, and with great shouts 
of joy both the man and 
the wolf were drawn out 
through the mouth of the 
cave. 



CHAPTER X. 



GEORGE WASH-ING-TON. 



Georo^e Wash -inor- ton 
was born in Vir-gin-ia, in 
the year 1732. As a boy 
he had a keen love of the 
truth, and would scorn to 
tell a lie. He was so calm 
and just when at school 
that the boys would call on 
him to make peace when 
they . were at strife. He 
knew how to rule his own 



heart, and grew up to be a 
wise and orood man. When 
he saw it was right to do 
a thing, he did that thing 
at once. He had a strong 
mind, a strong will, and a 
strong heart; and he had 
a great work to do in the 
world. He was born to 
rule. Two weeks from the 
time the fight took place 



7S 



THE HISTORY OF THE EXITED STATES. 



at Bun-ker Hill, Wash-ing- 
ton was sent for to be 
the Com-inan-dei'-m-cheif of 
our men. Though brave 
at heart they were green in 
war, and had but few of 
the things most used at 
such times. 

The first thinof Wash-ine- 
ton did was to teach them 
the art of war. Some 
thought he ought to rush 
rio-ht on the Brit-ish in 
Bos-ton. But he did not 
think so. He kept them 
so close in the town all 
those long cold days that 
they were most starved to 
death. 

At last, they were in 
such a strait that Gen-er-al 
Howe, the Brit-ish chief 
was forced to ask Wash- 
ing-ton to let him and his 
troops leave Bos-ton. This 
Wash-ina--ton was ela-d to 



do. Then the Eng-lish set 
sail for Hal-i-fax in March, 
1776, and the A-mer-i-cans 
marched in to Bos-ton to 
the great joy of all the folks 
there. The reio^n of Kinof 
George in that place was 
at an end. While the Brit- 
ish were still in Bos-ton, 
Howe sent a force of ships 
to lay siege to Charles-ton, 
in South Car-o-li-na. But 
Wash-ing-ton found out his 
plan, and sent Gen-er-al 
Lee to meet him. 

When the Brit-ish fleet 
came m si^ht of Charles- 
ton it was found that a 
strong fort had been built 
of earth and logs, so that 
the ships could not land. 
The men on board sent 
bomb -shells at the fort, 
which sank in the soft 
wood so that not much 
harm was done. But the 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



79 



shot from the fort swept 
the decks of the Brit-ish 
ships. 

When the fight was at 
its height, a brave deed 
was done by a young man 
named Jas-per. One of 
the balls had cut down the 
staff which held the flag 
the men in the fort were so 
proud of As soon as Jas- 
per saw it he sprang from 
the breast-works, seized the 
flag and put it back in its 
place, while round him the 
balls fell like hail-stones. 

For a whole day the 
Brit-ish kept up the fight. 
But they could not take 
the fort. So they gave it 
up, and set sail. The fort 
was called Fort Moul-trie, 
as that was the name of 
the brave man who kept it 
from the foe. 

When the Brit-ish left 



Bos-ton, Wash-ing-ton had 
a fear that they meant to 
go to New York, so he 
made up his mind to move 
his own troops to that 
place. He left some of his 
men in Bos-ton so that the 
Brit-ish should not come 
back and take it, and then 
set sail for New York. 
Then he set his men to 
work to build forts near 
the town, and on Long 
Is-land, and up the Hud- 
son, for the war was to be 
kept up till the whole of 
A-mer-i-ca was free from 
Eng-lish rule. What took 
place on the 4th of Ju-ly, 
I 776 ? I will tell you. 

On that day our men 
drew up an act, called 
" The Dec-la-ra-tzon of Lt- 
de -pen - dencel' Thom - as 
Jef-fer-son wrote it, and 
it was full of grand words 



8o 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



that rang out like a chime 
of bells. 

The Co7t-ti-7tent-al Con- 
gress was made up of wise 
men who made the laws by 
which A-mer-i-cans chose 
to be ruled. They met in 
Phil-a-del-phia, in a room 
in In-de-pen-dence Hall. 
When the word went forth 
that the Dec-la-ra-tion had 
been signed and sealed, the 
old bell-man seized the 
tongue of the great bell 
and swung it back and 
forth with all his might. 

At each loud stroke 
The old bell spoke, 

"We will not wear 
King George's Yoke ! 

" From South to North 

Our cry shall be, 
From this time forth 

We shall be free !" 

So loud the peal, 
So great the stroke, 

That in its joy 

The big bell broke. 



This is true. And when 
you go to Phil-a-del-phia 
you must ask to see the 
great bell that rang out 
such a wild peal of joy on 
that day ; and if you look 
on one side of it you will 
see the large crack that 
was made, so that it could 



rino^ no more. 



I must tell you what the 
folks in New York did. 
In that town stood a cast 
of King George III. It 
was made of lead. In one 
hand he held a kind of 
sword ; and on his head he 
wore a crown. When the 
news of the Dec-la-ra-tion 
o{ In-de-pen-dence reached 
New York a great crowd 
ran to one spot, and the 
cry was heard "Down with 
it! — down with it!" and 
soon a rope was put round 
its neck, and the lead King 




THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



George came do\^ n to the the troops that had been 
ground. Then it was cut 
all to bits, and made up 
in balls with which to kill 



sent from Eng-land to fight 
the A-mer-i-cans. 



■m ^, • ■» — 



CHAPTER XL 



DARK DAYS. 



In the fall of i 776 a deep 
gloom spread through the 
land. 

Gen-er-al Howe had his 
troops in camp on Stat-en- 
Is-land a few miles from 
New York, and in full 
view of Brook-l»yn. 

Wash -ing- ton sent a 
strong force to hold the 
heights of Brook -lyn and 
to throw up earth-works in 
front of the town. 

But the Eng-lish had 
more men, and the field 
was lost to the A-mer-i- 



cans, who fled to Har-lem, 
nine miles from New York. 
But the Eng-lish ships 
swept up the Hud-son and 
got in the front and rear 
of Wash-ing-ton and his 
troops. The Brit-ish took 
Fort Wash-ing-ton, which 
was so great a loss that it 
made Wash-ing-ton shed 
tears. 

He led his men to New 
Jer-sey. The ground as 
they went was stained with 
their blood. The most of 
them felt that their cause 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



was lost. They were in 
sore need. The red-coats, 
though close in the rear of 
Wash-ing-ton, could not 
catch up to him. In this 
way he got down to the 
Del-a-ware, which he had 
to cross to get to Penn-syl- 
va-nia. As he took care 
to take all the boats with 
him, the Brit-ish could not 
cross when they got there. 
The stream was full of ice, 
and it was hard work for 
men who were not half 
clad or half fed. But they 
did it, and kept on their 
way by land as soon as 
they reached the shore. 

At the close of the year 
Wash-ing-ton had a chance 
to clip the wings of the 
Brit-ish at Trent-on and 
Prince-ton so that they fell 
back and gave up a large 
part of New Jer-sey. 



The next year, that is in 
1777, our men lost ground; 
and dark were the days 
they spent at Val-ley 



Forge. 

They had not much to 
eat, and their clothes hung 
in rags. Some of them 
had no shoes, and their 
steps could be traced by 
the blood-marks they left 
in the snow. They had to 
keep as warm as they could 
in their small huts, or round 
the camp-fires, and if the 
fire of love for their own 
land had not burned strong 
in their hearts they could 
not have stood it at all. 

At this time a new force 
came to the aid of these 
brave men. France was 
at heart the friend of 
A-mer-i-ca, but did not 
dare to take a bold part in 
the war. But she let one 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



83 



of her bright young chiefs 
cross the sea to J elp the 
cause for which they fought. 
His name was La-Fay-ette. 
He was a young man of 
great wealth, and in a high 
place at the French court. 
He left his young wife, his 
home, and all he held dear, 
to cast his lot with those 
who were in great need of 
this kind of cheer. Wash- 
ing-ton met him with tears 
of joy in his eyes, and gave 
him a place on his staff. 
He put new strength in 
the troops, and made their 
cause his own. For this 
he holds a high place in 
the love of all true A-mer- 
i-cans. When the war was 
at an end, and A-mer-i-ca 
free, he went back to 
France. In the year 1826, 
when La-fay-ette was an 
old man he came to see 



once more the land he had 
helped to save. The fame 
of his good and brave 
deeds will last till the end 
of time. 

In the spring of 1777, 
Gen-er-al Bur-goyne set 
out from Can-a-da with a 
fine lot of troops. He was 
to go south and be met 
at Al-ba-ny by a Brit-ish 
force which was to march 
up from New York. This 
was a grand plan to cut 
our lines in two. He 
marched far in the New 
Eng-land States. As he 
drew near men took down 
their guns from the walls 
and went to the front. 
They had not much skill 
in the art of war, but they 
had firm hearts and a sure 
aim. It was not long ere 
the Brit-ish found out they 
were cauQ^ht as in a net. 



84 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Our men were at the front 
and rear and on all sides. 
In grief and shame the 
red-coats laid down their 
arms to a crowd of rough 
ill -dressed men, most of 
whom wore their guns slung 
on their backs! It was a 
great blow to Eng-land. 

Near the same time Gen- 
er-al Howe tried to cross 
Wash -ing- ton's path and 
take Phil-a-del-phia, then 
the chief town of all the 
States. As he could not 
get there by land he went 
back to New York and set 
sail from that place. Our 
men were drawn up on the 
banks of the Bran-dy-wine, 
but though they fought 
well the red-coats were too 
strong for them, and drove 
them from the field. In a 
few days a Brit-ish force 
with Lord Corn-wal-lis at 



its head made its way to 
Phil-a-c el-phia. The band 
played "God save the 
King." The day was bright. 
The streets were gay ; and 
there were some folks in 
the town who were full of 
joy, and glad to see King 
George's men. They were 
met as friends and not as 
foes. 

Said wise Ben Frank- 
lin, ''Gen-er-al Howe did 
not take Phil-a-del-phia ; 
Phil-a-del-phia took Gen- 
er-al Howe." 

I must tell you of a great 
feat done by Gen-er-al Put- 
nam, or ''old Put" as he 
was called, while the red- 
coats made war through 
New Eng-land. They 
robbed and set on fire the 
towns they went through, 
and at last came to Horse- 
neck, which is on the 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



85 



Sound a few miles from 
New York. Gen-er-al Put- 
nam was at Horse -neck 
with a small force of men 
and two large guns. The 
British had more men, but 
less pluck. 

^'Old Put" was a bold 
man. He set his guns on 
a hill near the church ; and 
as the red-coats came up 
the guns were fired. At 
length the foe came so 
close that he told his men 
to run and hide in a swamp 
near by. He was on horse- 
back, and the hill was so 
steep that no horse could 
go down it but by the road 
on which the red -coats 
were. But the man who 



had the wit to snare a 
wolf, was not the one to be 
caught in a trap. He saw 
some stone steps that had 
been laid so that those in 
the vale could get up to 
*:he church which was on 
the hill. It is life or death, 
thought Put-nam, and down 
he rode at break-neck speed. 
On came the Brit-ish. They 
were sure of him. But 
when they reached the spot 
they saw "old Put" a long 
way off. They did not 
dare to go down the steps, 
so they shot at him, and 
would have killed him if 
they could. But one ball 
came near him, and that 
went through his hat. 



86 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 



The French had shown 
such good will to our men. 
that Frank-lin was sent to 
ask their aid. The King 
of France said he would 
help with ships, men, and 
gold, and he was as good 
as his word. This brought 
much cheer to the hearts 
of the A-mer-i-cans. When 
Eng-land heard what 
France meant to do, she 
tried her best to make 
peace. But it was too late. 

From the year 1779 ^^^ 
war went on in the South, 
where much blood was 
spilt. There were loss and 
gain on both sides, but at 
last the Brit-ish troops were 
forced back to Charles-ton, 



where they stayed till the 
close of the war. 

We now come to a dark 
page and a dark plot by 
which, if it had not been 
found out, A-mer-i-ca would 
have lost all she had fought 
so hard to win. This was 
a plan to place West-Point 
in the hands of the Brit-ish. 
West-Point was a strong 
fort on the Hud-son which 
was in charge of Gen-er-al 
Ar-nold. The Brit-ish 
knew it was worth their 
while to get this post, so 
they sent word to Ar-nold 
that he might have a large 
sum in gold if he would 
give it up. This he meant 
to do if he had not been 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



87 



found out. No true man 
will take a bribe of this sort. 
Wash- ing- ton bade him 
leave the post, and he went 
off in a great rage. 

Then he came back full 
of ofrief for the wronor he 
had done, and said he 
meant from that hour to 
do right, and begged to be 
sent back to his post at 
West-Point. But his heart 
was black ; his thoughts 
were base ; and Wash-ing- 
ton, who had a kind heart, 
did wrong to trust him. 
As soon as he was once 
more in charQ^e of West- 
Point he wrote to Sir Hen- 
ry Clin-ton, who was with 
the Brit-ish in New York, 
to send some one to whom 
he could give up the fort. 

Ma-jor An-dre was sent 
up the Hud-son in a sloop 
of war, named the Vul-ture. 



The night was pitch dark 
when he left the boat and 
went to the place where he 
was to meet Ar-nold. Day 
broke ere their talk came 
to an end. It was not safe 
for An-dre to be seen. The 
ship from which he had 
come lay in full view. 
Would that he could reach 
her ! He must make his 
way back to New York 
by land as best he could. 
A pass from Ar-nold took 
him through the A-mer-i- 
can lines, and then he drew 
a free breath, and felt no 
more fear. 

He came to a small 
stream ; thick woods on 
the riofht and on the left 
made the night seem more 
dark. All at once three 
armed men came out from 
the trees and bade him 
halt. From the dress of 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



one of them An-dre thought 
he was with friends. Poor 
An-dre ! He soon found 
out they were not friends 
at all. They searched him, 
and at first nought was 
found. Then one of the 
men said, " Boys, I am still 
in doubt. His boots must 
come off." 

Andre's face fell. His 
boots were searched, and 
Ar-nold's sketch of West- 
Point was found. The men 
knew then that he was a 
spy. Word was at once 
sent to Wash-ing-ton who 
was then at West- Point. 
As soon as Ar-nold heard 
that his plot was found out 
he fled in great haste to a 
Brit-ish man-of-war. An- 
dre was tried, and by the 
rules of war he had to be 
hung. It was a sad fate 
for so young and so good a 



man, and gave great pain 
to all those who took part 
in the act. Had it been 
Ar-nold, no tears would 
have been shed. This bad 
man, who was to blame for 
An-dres death, made his 
way to New York, and 
took sides with the Brit-ish. 
When the war came to an 
end he went to Eng-land, 
where in 1801 he died; and 
in the whole wide world 
there was no one who had 
the least love for the man, 
or would shed a tear at his 
grave. He won the hate 
of Eno^-lish-men as well as 
A-mer-i-cans, and I would 
warn all boys not to do as 
Ben-e-dicf Ar-nold did. 

We dome now to the 
fight which brought the 
war to a close. It took 
place at York-town in Vir- 
gin-ia, in the year 1781. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



89 



Wash -ing- ton was near 
New York and thouo^ht to 
march on that place. But 
he changed his plan, and 
went in great haste to fight 
Lord Corn-wal-lis and to 
lay siege to York-town. 
He had the French to help 
him ; and their men-of-war 
shut up the bay so that the 
Brit-ish could not get out 
to sea in their own boats. 
A sharp fire of shot and 
shell was kept up in front 
and rear. The red -coats 
were shut in on all sides, 
and met with great loss. 
They had but few guns ; 
and their shot rave out. 
For more than ten days 
the fight was kept up, and 
the Brit-ish did all that 
brave men could do to 
hold the fort. But the red- 
hot shot of the French set 
fire to their ships. Their 



earth-works were torn up 
by the fire of our troops 
who came up with such 
speed that the foe lost all 
hope. 

Corn-wal-lis sent out a 
flag of truce. The Brit- 
ish laid down their arms. 
Peace had come at last, 
and the joy of A-mer-i-ca 
knew no bounds. 

It was eight years since 
the first blood was shed at 
Lex-ing-ton. Thus long 
had our men fought, and 
bled, and borne all sorts 
of ills to win what was well 
worth all it cost them. 
Now they were free; and 
Eng-land was the same to 
them as all the rest of the 
world — " in peace, a friend ; 
in war, a foe." 

By the end of the year 
1783 the last red-coat had 
left our shores ; and our 



90 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



troops went back to their 
homes. 

Wash-ing-ton had won 
the love of all hearts. The 
men who had fought with 
him were loath to leave 
him. It was a sad time. 
Strong men shed tears 
when Wash-ing-ton bade 
them good-by. Tears were 



in his own eyes. He would 
take no pay for what he 
had done. His troops 
would have made him king, 
but he had no wish to be 
on a throne. He was sick 
of war and of a life of care, 
and glad to go back to his 
farm and spend the rest 
of his days in peace. 



CHAPTER XHI. 



ON SHIP AND SHORE. 



The war left A-mer-i-ca 
in a sad state. Towns and 
fields had been laid waste 
by fire. All the arts of 
peace had been made to 
stop. There was a big 
debt to be paid. Laws 
must be made for those 
who were now free from 
the rule of Eng-land. It 



took wise and good men 
three or four years to work 
out a plan that would meet 
the case. 

They had need of some 
wise and good man at the 
head. It was the vote of 
the States that George 
Wash-inor-ton was the man 
to fill the place. At the 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



91 



same time they cast their 
votes for two men, so that 
in case the chief died there 
would be some one to take 
his place. George Wash- 
ing-ton and John Ad-ams 
were the two they chose, 
and on the fourth of 
March, 1789, Wash-ing- 
ton took his place as the 
chief of the band who 
were to make the laws of 
A-mer-i-ca. He served 
for eight years, and did so 
well for the U-ni-ted States 
— as they were now called — 
that it was said of him " He 
was first in war — first in 
peace." It was the wish 
of all that he should serve 
a third term, but he would 
not, and in the year 1799 
he died, and his death was 
felt to be a great loss. 
John Ad-ams was chief 
for one term — of four 



years — from 1797 to 
1801. 
Thomas Jef-fer-son two 
terms, from 1801 to 
1809. 
James Mad-i-son two 
terms, from 1809 ^^ 
1817. 
While Mad-i-son was 
chief, and our land had 
been at peace not quite a 
score of years, it had to 
go to war once more with 
Eng-land. It is called ''the 
war of 1 81 2," as it took 
place in that year. This 
was the cause of it : Eng- 
land said that she had a 
right to search our ships, 
to see if they had on board 
of them men who ought 
to serve Great Brit-ain. 
The search was not just, 
and men were seized and 
made to serve a flag they 
did not love. Some of 



92 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



our men would not let a 
search be made on their 
ships and much blood was 
shed. These deeds brought 
on the war which was kept 
up on the sea and on the 
land. Our men could not 
do much on the land, but 
with their ships they kept 
up a brave fight and had 
good luck on the sea, and 
took five Brit-ish ships- 
of-war. 

The first fight was with 
the Con-sti- tu-tion and 
Guer-ri-ere. The last 

named was a Brit-ish ship. 
So fierce was the fire of 
shot from our side that in 
half an hour there was not 
a spar left on the deck of 
the Guer-ri-ere ; and the 
next day she was blown 
up, as there was no way in 
which she could be towed 
to port. 



The next one was that 
of the Mac-e-do-ni-an and 
U-ni-ted States. The brave 
Com-mo-dore De-ca-tur 
had charge of our ship, 
which took the Enor-Hsh 
ship as a prize. 

The Ja-va was next 
caught by the Con-sti-tu- 
tion, and the Pea-cock by 
the Hor-net. The Pea- 
cock had such great holes 
made in her hull by the 
balls sent from the Hor- 
net by our men, that she 
sank with some of her men 
on board. 

Two Eng-lish ships lay 
off Bos-ton in the warm 
months of the year 1813. 
In the bay the A-mer-i-can 
ship Ches-a-peake had lain 
for some months. Broke 
sent off one of his ships, 
and sent word to Law-rence 
that he would match his 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



93 



ship, the Shan-non, with 
the Ches-a-peake. Then 
he stood close in to the 
shore to wait for his foe to 
come forth. Crowds went 
on house-top and hill to see 
the fight. Not a shot was 
fired till the ships were so 
near that the men could 
see the eyes of those they 
meant to kill. The fire of 
the Brit-ish soon told on 
our ship. Her sails are 
torn ; her masts fall ; her 
deck is swept by the balls 
sent from the huge guns. 
The ships are now side b}^ 
side. The Shan-non still 
fires grape-shot from two 
of her guns. Broke leaps 
on board the Ches-a-peake 
whose deck is wet with 
blood, tears down the flag, 
and the fight is at an en,d 
in less than half an hour. 
If it is sad for us to read 



of such things, what must 
it have been for those who 
took part in them ? 

Law-rence had his death- 
wound in this fight, and 
with his last breath he said 
to his men. " Don't give 
up the ship!" This has 
been since that day the 
watch word of A-mer-i-can 
tars. 

I will now tell you of a 
fight that took place on 
Lake E-rie, in the fall of 
1813, in which our men 
won the day. The A-mer- 
i-can fleet of nine ships 
was in charge of Com-mo- 
dore Per-ry. The Brit- 
ish had but six ships, but 
these had more guns than 
ours. 

Per-ry's flag- ship was 
the Law-rence, and the 
words " Don't give up the 
ship" — the last that brave 



94 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



man spoke — were on the 
flag that was sent up as a 
sign that the fight was to 
set in. The Brit-ish ships 
point most of their guns at 
the Law-rence. For two 
hours they pour the shot 
at her till her guns have 
no place to rest, and she 
lies a wreck on the wave. 
There are but few of her 
crew who are not hurt. It 
is clear to Com-mo-dore 
Per-ry that he must leave 
his ship and make his way, 
if he can, to one of those 
that lie near. 

He took his flag with 
him, and in a small boat 
made his way to the Ni- 
ag-a-ra, while the whole of 
the Brit-ish fleet kept up 
the fire of their oruns in 
hopes to stop his course. 

In less than half an hour 
Per-ry took the whole of 



the Brit-ish fleet, and then 
sat down and wrote of it 
m these words; "We have 
met the foe, and they are 
ours." 

For three years the war 
was kept up. The A-mer- 
i-cans were sick of it. The 
Brit-ish lost more than they 
gained. Men from both 
sides met at Ghent, and 
made terms of peace. 

A Brit-ish sloop-of-war 
brought the news to New 
York ; and none too soon. 
The fight at New Or-leans 
took place while the ship 
was on the sea. It was 
won by the A-mer-i-cans, 
led by Gen-er-al Jack-son. 
He was rough in his ways, 
but his men were fond of 
him, and they , gave him 
the pet name of "Old 
Hick-o-ry." 

The cry of " Peace ! 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



95 



ranor throuo^h the 



peace i 

streets. Fires were lit. 
Bos-ton was wild with joy. 
Ships that had long lain 
at her wharves were soon 
sent out to sea, to trade, 
and not to make war. 

It was a glad time. New 
States were formed. Men 
came in swarms from the 
Old World, and went to 
the west to make new 
homes. 

On the fourth of March, 
1817, James Mon-roe, was 
sworn in as chief of our 
land, and he made a tour 
through most of the States, 
to learn their needs and 
their growth, that his rule 
might be a wise one* 

In 1825 John Quin-cy 
Ad-ams was made chief, 
by a large vote, for a term 
of four years. His rule 
was one of peace. As 



there were more men to 
choose from, those who had 
a right to vote took sides. 
Each had its own friend. 

In 1829 the votes were 
cast for John Quin-cy Ad- 
ams and An-drew Jack-son. 
When they came to count 
them. Jack -son had the 
most, so he was made chief 
on the 4th of March. His 
home was in Ten-nes-see. 

Jack-son was a man of 
strong will, and did some 
things that did not please 
some of the folks. But 
he was much liked, and 
held the place of chief for 
two terms. 

In 1837 Mar-tin Van 
Bu-ren was made chief for 
a term of four years. By 
this time some of the 
States felt that Jack-son 
had not been the right kind 
of man for them, and the 



96 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



most that Van Bu-ren could 
do was to try to keep the 
peace. 

In 1 84 1 Gen-er-al Wil- 
H-am Hen-ry Har-ri-son 
was made chief with great 
pomp. His friends had 
hopes that his rule would 
prove a great joy to the 
land. He was a brave 
man, and a good man ; one 
that had been tried and 
found as true as steel. All 
was bright and fair. But 
just one month from the 
day he was made chief the 
old man died. He was 
sick but a few days. John 



Ty-ler took his place, but 
he did not please those 
who had cast their votes 
for Har-ri-son. 

In the band that were 
kept near the chief, to 
aid him in time of need, 
were such men as Hen-ry 
Clay, and Dan-i-el Web- 
ster, of whom you may 
have heard. These men 
had large brains, and large 
hearts, and when they got 
up to speak it was worth 
while to hear what they 
had to say. A-mer-i-ca 
was proud of these men, 
and is to this day. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



97 



CHAPTER XIV. 



WHAT TOOK PLACE IN MEX-I-CO AND CAL-I-FOR-NIA. 



In 1845 James K. Polk 
was sworn in. He had to 
take an oath, as did all the 
rest of the chiefs, that he 
would be true, and would 
serve his land the best he 
knew how. In his term a 
war with Mex-i-co broke 
out. The cause of this 
war was three -fold. In 
the first place Mex-i-co did 
not want Tex-as to join the 
States, which she did in 
1845, and was full of ill-will. 
In the next place those 
States in the South that 
held slaves did not like 
Mex-i-co at all. I will tell 
you why. The Pope of 
Rome would have no 



if a slave could make his 
way there he would be a 
free man. I will tell you 
more of the Slave States 
by-and-by. 

In the third place Mex- 
i-co was not sure how biof 
Tex-as ought to be, and 
was at strife all the time 
with the U-ni-ted States, 
who wished to have men 
sent from both sides to fix 
the line. This did not suit 
Mex-i-co, and so there was 
a war. 

In the spring of 1846, 
Gen-er-al Zach-a-ry Tay-lor 
was sent with a force to 
the Ri-o Gran-de, which 
our men claimed as the 



slaves in Mex-i-co, and so line that bound Tex-as on 



98 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the south and south-west. 
Two fights took place at 
this point, both of which 
were won by Gen-er-al Tay- 
lor. This gave great joy 
to all the States ; and a 
large force was at once 
raised, and Gen-er-al Win- 
field Scott put at its head. 

In the mean-time Gen- 
er-al Tay-lor beat San-ta 
An-na in two more fig^hts 
— at Mon-te-rey and Bu- 
e-na Vis-ta. At the last 
named place San-ta An-na 
had four or five times more 
troops than Gen-er-al Tay- 
lor. In the last fight San- 
ta An-na fled in such haste 
that he left his cork leg ! 

Gen-er-al Tay-lor was 
fond of a joke, and did not 
mind a bit of fun now and 
then. He was rouo[-h in 
his speech and had a quick 
wit, and that is how he 



won the name of "Old 
Rough and Read-y." He 
knew just what to say and 
what to do when the time 
came for him to speak and 
act, and though a man of 
war had a great big heart, 
and more friends than foes. 
At one time, in the midst 
of a great fight with the 
Mex-i-cans, the balls came 
thick and fast quite near 
the place where Tay-lor 
stood with some of his 
staff The men did not 
like this kind of fun, and 
would duck their heads 
when a ball went by. The 
old Gen-er-al saw. this, and 
said " Don't dodge ! Brave 
men should not dodge!" 
It was not long ere a big 
ball came so near the old 
man's nose that it made 
him start back. At this his 
men set up a loud laugh. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



99 



A flush of shame Ht the 
old man's face, and he felt 
that he was in a fix. Then 
a smile broke through the 
cloud, and with a light 
laugh he said, 

"Well, well, my men ; I 
guess you will have to 
dodge the balls. Dodge — 
but don't run." 

In March, 1847, Win- 
field Scott set out with his 
force to seize Ve-ra Cruz, 
which was a large and 
strong town with a fort on 
the sea- coast. They had 
to fight each step of their 
way through Mex-i-co. 
They took Cer-ro Gor-do 
by storm, and at last came 
to Cha-pul-te-pec, which 
was built on a rock, and 
was the great strong- hold 
of the Mex-i-cans. When 
this fell all hope was lost, 
and in the Fall of 1847, 



our troops marched in the 
chief town of Mex-i-co, 
and there put up the Stars 
and Stripes. In the next 
year terms of peace were 
made, which gave us the 
whole of Cal-i-for-nia and 
New Mex-i-co. 

Who has not heard of 
Cal-i-for-nia ? I will tell 
you how gold came to be 
found there. 

Some men had been set 
to work to build a mill-race. 
As they dug out the trench 
they saw that the sand was 
full of bits of stuff that 
shone like gold. They 
did not think much of it 
at first. But as they dug 
down they found more of 
it. It was gold! Here in 
the rock ! there in the 
sand ! now in a big lump ! 
now in a small one! It was 
like a dream ! The men 



lOO 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



were wild ! They had but 
to stoop down and take 
up this great weahh. The 
news spread. Young men 
and old men from the East, 
and from all parts of the 
world flocked to the land 
of gold. Some went by 
land and some by sea. 
Some were sick on the 
way. A host of them died 
and left their bones where 
there was no friend to dig 
a grave. Still the crowds 
kept on, and some of them 
were made rich by the gold 
they found in the strange 
land. But they had to work 
hard for it, and lead strange 
lives; and not all of those 
who went to Cal-i-for-nia 
in the year 1849 gi*ew to 
be rich men. No; some 
spent all they had, and 
were poor to the end of 
their days. 



Cal-i-for-nia has o^rown 
to be a great State. San 
Fran-cis-co is its chief town. 
Gold is still found in the 
State. Her soil is rich, and 
her fruits grow to a great 
size. She has a larore trade 
in wheat, wool, and wine, 
which are all first-class. 

In 1849 the U-ni-ted 
States made Gen-er-al Tay- 
lor their chief In this way 
they thought to prove their 
love for, and their faith 
in hmi. In less than four 
months he died, and Fill- 
more took his place. There 
was strife here and there 
through the land, which 
was brought to an end by 
wise means, so that no real 
war took place. 

At this time three great 
men died: — John C. Cal- 
houn, Hen-ry Clay, and 
Dan-i-el Web-ster. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



101 



Frank -lin Pierce was 
sworn in as chief in 1853. 
By this time there was 
much strife in the North 
and in the South as the 
New States came in. There 
were those who said Kan- 
sas should be a free State, 
and there were those who 
said she should have slaves. 
This of course, made a 
g^reat war of words. It 
was left for the folks in 
Kan-sas to say if they 
would have slaves or not, 
and then there was a great 
rush to that State from 
both sides. 

I must tell you now of a 
man named John Brown 
who felt that the curse of 
God was on the land that 
bought and sold men as 
slaves. He thought the 
black man had just as good 
a rieht to be free as the 



white man, and he took the 
law in his own hands in a 
rash way. He saw a great 
wrono^ and meant to do his 
best to set it right, with 
God's help. He could not 
hope to change the laws of 
the land, but he was full 
of fiorht for a cause so dear 
to his heart. He took his 
two sons and went to Kan- 
sas to help make it and 
keep it a free State. A 
few men who thought as 
he did went with him. He 
laid up a store of arms, and 
he and his friends made a 
way for slaves to get to 
Can-a-da where they would 
be free. Brown was a 
shrewd man, and for some 
time these things were done 
on the sly. But some one 
found out his plans and 
made them known to those 
who were his foes. 



I02 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



This roused the wrath of | to a stand-still, and held 
old John Brown, and led the place for more than a 



him to do in haste what 
he mip^ht have known 
would hurt his cause. This 
is what he did. At the 
town of Har-per's Fer-ry 
there was a place where a 
laro^e stock of arms and 
tools of war were kept. 
This he made up his mind 
to seize. His hopes were 
high. He was sure he 
should not fail. He went 
to work with a small force 
of black and white men ; 
made the trains stop that 
here cross the Po-to-mac ; 
brought work of all kinds 



day. Most all his men 
were hurt or slain. His 
two sons were shot dead. 
Brown stood by his dead 
boys, and in a calm voice 
told his men to stand firm, 
and sell their lives dear. 
But the foe was too strong 
for the brave old man. He 
was at last caught, tried, 
and hung; and the name 
and fame of John Brown 
are sung in one of the 
songs of the land. 

This act is known as 
"John Brown's raid." 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XV. 



103 



NORTH AND SOUTH AT WAR. 



From the year 1857 to 
1861 James Bu-chan-an 
was the chief of these 
U-ni-ted States. At this 
time the Mor-mons were at 
strife with our laws. The 
Mor-mons think it is right 
for a man to have more 
than one wife. They claim 
to serve God in this way. 
They make their home in 
Utah. Their chief town is 
Salt Lake Cit-y. Troops 
were sent to quell the strife, 
but terms were made so 
that no blood was shed, 
and so long as the Mor- 
mons keep the peace we 
have no law^ that can touch 
them. Their mode of life 
is a great blot on our land. 



While Bu-chan-an was 
chief there was a stir at 
the South that the men at 
the North knew not how 
to deal with. The South 
said it had a right to keep 
slaves. Bu-chan-an thought 
it was wrong, but did not 
know how to o-o to work 
to bring it to an end. Men 
of wealth who first came 
from Eng-land to A-mer-i- 
ca had brought their slaves 
with them, and their sons 
were brought up to think 
that they could own slaves, 
the same as they owned 
cows or pigs, and could 
treat them just as they 
chose. 
Six States cut loose from 



104 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the rest. They were U-ni- 
ted States no more. South 
Car-o-H-na led them, and 
they set up as free States; 
that is, free from the laws 
that bound them to the 
North. The bells of Charles- 
ton rang for joy. Wild 
shouts of joy were heard 
in her streets. They chose 
Jeff- er- son Da -vis to be 
their chief for the next six 
years. Those States thought 
they had the right to do 
just as they did. All in 
the South were not of the 
same mind. The North 
felt that the States must be 
kept as one. Those who 
had gone off must be made 
to come back by force of 
arms. Such was the state 
of our land in the year 
i860, when the time came 
to choose a chief to take the 
place of James Bu-chan-an. 



The choice fell on A- 
bra-ham Lin-coln. He had 
been born in the South, but 
had gone to the west to 
live when quite a young 
man. He was tall and 
gaunt, and had a sad and 
care-worn face. He took 
his place on the 4th of 
March, 1 86 1. At this time 
Fort Sum-ter, which was 
off Charles-ton, was the 
sole fort left in the South 
where the North had the 
least foot-hold. It was in 



:h 



cnarge o 



f af 



ew men wi 



ith 



Ma-jor An-der-son at their 
head. 

A large force of troops 
from the South, led by 
Gen-er-al Beau-re-gard, 
had built earth-works from 
which to fire on the fort. 
He tried at first to starve 
out the men in the fort, but 
word was sent to them that 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



ships were on their way 
with food. 

At dawn of a spring day 
a bomb-shell went with a 
whizz through the air and 
burst on Fort Sum-ter. Its 
sound went throuorh the 

o 

land. It was plain there 
was now to be war. With 
more men the fort might 
have been held, for it was 
strong and well built, but 
at the end of a day and 
a half An-der-son was 
forced to give up the fort. 
Not a man was hurt. 

It had been thought by 
some that the North would 
not fiorht. But she went 
to work with zeal. Men 
left their farms, their shops, 
their trades, their homes, 
and their dear ones, and 
were soon in arms and on 
the way to meet the foe. 
It was a strano^e, sad sio-ht. 



Both sides thought the war 
would be a short one. 

The first o^reat fio^ht of 
the war took place at Bull 
Run. Gen-er-al Scott was 
too old to take the field, so 
the troops from the North 
were led out by Gen-er-al 
Mc Dow-ell. At first it 
w^as thought the North 
would win, but fresh troops 
came to the aid of Beau-re- 
gard, and they broke the 
ranks of their foes, who set 
off on a wild run and did 
not stop till they got back 
to Wash- inor- ton. This 
taught the North that it 
was not a play war. 

Lin-coln sent out a call 
for more men. The whole 
South was in arms. 

Gen-er-al Georore B. Mc 
Clel-lan, who had done 
some good work in Vir- 
gin-ia, was now made Gen- 



io6 



THE HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. 



er-al in chief. He knew 
how to train troops, but 
was not the man to lead 
them in fight. 

To tell of all the fights 
that took place in the long 
war of four years would 
make too large a book: 

In 1862 the war took a 
start in the West. A force, 
led by Brig-a-dier Gen-er- 
al U. S. Grant, set out in 
a fleet of gun-boats to take 
Fort Don-el-son. They laid 
siege to the fort by land, 
and by sea, and took it from 
the hands of the South. 

The next great fight in 
the West was at Shi-loh, 
on the Ten-nes-see. Grant 
and Bu-ell led the troops 
from the North, and Al- 
bert Syd-ney John-ston and 
Beau-re-gard the troops 
from the South. The first 
shot came from the South, 



who drove the North down 
to the brink of the stream. 
But John-ston was killed ; 
night came on, fresh troops 
came up to aid the North, 
and the next day there 
was a brisk fight, and Beau- 
re-gard and his men were 
put to flight. 

The next great fight in 
the west was at Stone Riv- 
er in Ten-nes-see. It was 
kept up for three days. 
There was o^reat loss on 
both sides, but the North 
held the field. 

At An-tie-tam in Ma- 
ry-land, a great fight took 
place, twixt Gen-er-al Lee 
and Gen-er-al Mc Clel-lan. 
This was in the fall of 
1862. It was hard fought 
on both sides, and there 
was great loss of life. 

The next fight was in 
Vir-o^in-ia, at Fred-er-icks- 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



107 



buror. Burn-side had been 
put in Mc Clel-lan's place, 
but he was no match for 
Gen-er-al Lee, who won 
the day. 

In the spring of 1862 a 
large fleet of gun-boats, in 
charore of Ad-mi-ral Far- 
ra-gut went out to fight 
the force at New-Or-leans. 
For six days Far-ra-gut 
sent shot and shell at the 
two forts that were in his 
way, but he could not do 
them much harm. The 
foe had put a stout chain 
from shore to shore so that 
ships could not get by, 
and fire-rafts and gun-boats 
were let loose to do all the 
harm they could to those 
that came too near. But 
Far-ra-gut made his way 
past forts and gun -boats 
and took New-Or-leans, 
which was a great prize. 



The South had thought 
of a new kind of a eun- 
boat. It was clad in a 
coat of mail, and did much 
harm. It was called the 
Mer-ri-mac. One nio^ht 
there came from New York 
a strange kind of a craft, 
which had just been built 
and was called the Mon-i- 
tor. There were no masts 
to be seen. It looked like 
a cheese box on a raft. 
There was a fierce fight 
twixt these two boats, and 
the steam-ram, the Mer-ri- 
mac, had to put in to Nor- 
folk. These sea-fights were 
kept up for some time, and 
more eun-boats of the same 
sort were built in Eu-rope 
as well as in A-mer-i-ca. 

On the first day of the 
year 1863, Lin-coln did a 
deed that gave great joy to 
the black race. He said 



io8 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



that from that day all the 
slaves should be free. Just 
think of it ! The whole 
North gave thanks to God. 
The South was not so well 
pleased, of course, but had 
to yield to the law. 

In May 1863, Gen-er-al 
Joe Hook-er, who took 
Burn-side's place, led his 
troops out to fight Lee's 
men. They met at Chan- 
cel-lors-ville in Vir-mn-ia. 
Lee had but a small force, 
and Jack-son came up from 
the South to help him. 
As Jack-son rode up with 
his staff he was shot by 
some of his own men, and 
had to be borne from the 
field. He was calm in the 
midst of great pain. " If I 
live it will be for the best," 
he said ; "and if I die it will 
be for the best." He died 
at the end of eight days. 



and the death of "Stone- 
wall" Jack-son was a great 
, grief to the South, and to 
his friends at the North. 

Lee, by his great skill, 
won the fight at Chan-cel- 
lors-ville, and Hook-er had 
to turn back the troops he 
had sworn to lead "On 
to Rich-mond." This was 
a great blow to the North. 

The chief fight of the 
whole war took place at 
Get -tys- burg, a town in 
Penn-syl-va-nia. Lee had 
had such orood luck that it 
made him bold ; and his 
plan now was to march to 
the North and take Phil- 
a-del-phia and New York. 
The North shook with fear 
at Lee's move, for he had 
shown orreat skill. 

Gen-er-al Meade was 
put in Gen-er-al Hook-er's 
place, and he and a large 




THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



109 



force of troops set out to 
meet Gen-er-al Rob-ert E. 
Lee. Meade, though a 
brave man, felt that he had 
a hard task. In the first 
place, the troops were all 
stranofe to him; and what 
was worse than all, they 
had had such bad luck, 
that they had no hope 
in their hearts. But the 
work had to be done, and 
he and his men must move 
at once. "Theirs but to do 
and die." 

The first fio^ht in Get- 
tys-burg took place on the 
first day of Ju-ly, 1863 with 
the loss of a few men on 
both sides. At nio^ht fresh 
troops came in for the 
North and the South, and 
the fight was kept up all 
the next day. On the third 
day Meade held a hill 
which was full of orraves. 



Some of the tomb-stones 
were so old and moss-grown 
that the names and dates 
could not be seen. Some 
of them were fresh and 
new. The men in gray 
swore they would take the 
hill on which Meade and 
his men were. 

The morn of the day 
on which hung the life, we 
may say, of the U-ni-ted 
States, was bright and warm 
and still. Lee laid his 
plans to crush his foe at 
one point. Meade brought 
his troops to this place 
where they were to win or 
lose the fight. At noon 
all was in trim, and at the 
sio;n from Lee's o^uns a fierce 
rain of shot and shell fell 
on both sides. For three 
hours this was kept up, 
and in the midst of it Lee 
sent forth a large force of 



no 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



his men to break through 
Meade's ranks. Down the 
hill they went and through 
the vale, and up to the low 
stone wall, back of which 
stood the foe. But Lee's 
brave men did not stop 
here. On they went, up 
close to the guns whose 
fire cut deep in their ranks, 
while Lee kept watch from 
' the height they had left. 
The smoke lifts, and Lee 
sees the flag of the South 
wave in the midst of the 
strife. The sight cheers 
his heart. His men are on 
the hill from which they 
think they will soon drive 
the foe. A dense cloud 
of smoke veils the scene. 
When it next lifts the boys 
in gray are m flight down 
the slope where the grass 
is strewn thick with the 
slain. Lee's plan did not 



work well. He lost the 
fight, and went back to 
Vir-gin-ia, and as far 
South as the Rap-id-an. 

There was great loss on 
both sides. For days and 
days men did nought but 
dig graves for the dead. 
For miles round there was 
not a barn or a house that 
did not hold men with 
such bad wounds it was 
not safe to move them. 
Some were so hurt and 
torn that they could not 
bear the touch of kind 
hands, but had to lie on 
the field till death put an 
end to their pain. 

Oh, that there were no 
such thing; as war ! 

In the spring of 1864 
Gen-er-al Grant, who had 
been put at the head of all 
the U-ni-ted States troops, 
left his men at the west in 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



charge of Gen-er-al Sher- 
man, and took the field 
to rout Gen-er-al Lee, and 
to force his way to Rich- 
mond. There were fierce 
fights on both sides, and 
great loss of life. The 
North had more men and 
means than the South, and 
Grant felt that each move 
he made brought the end 
more near. His aim was 
to o^et Pe-ters-buror and 
Rich-mond, but not much 
was done till the spring 
of 1865. Grant was a man 
of few words. It is said 
that "a still tono^ue shows 
a wise head." He wrote 
*T will fight it out on this 
line," and the North had 
great faith in him. From 
the first there had not been 
a doubt in his own mind 
but that the North would 
win. And this gave him 



streno^th all throuo^h the 
war. He now felt that he 
had the foe by the throat, 
and did not mean to let to 
his grasp. But for Lee's 
great skill the war would 
not have gone on for so 
long a time. 

Let us now turn to the 
west. At the time that 
Grant met and fought with 
Lee in a place known as 
the Wil - der- ness — May, 
1864 — Sher-man had a 
fight with Gen-er-al J. E. 
Johns-ton, in Geor-gia, and 
won his way to At-lan-ta, 
which was a great gain. 

Gen-er-al Hood was now 
put in place of Johns-ton, 
and he made up his mind 
to march to Ten-nes-see 
and make Sher-man fall 
back. But in place of this 
Sher-man gave Gen-er-al 
Thom-as one half of his 



112 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



force to keep guard in 
Ten-nes-see, while with the 
rest of his troops he went 
through Geor-gia — and oh ! 
what harm was done with 
fire and sword! — till he 
came to the sea-coast and 
took Sa-van-nah. Not a 
word had been heard from 
him in a whole month. 
This is known as "Sher- 
man's march to the sea," 
and the fame of it went 
through the land and made 
his name great in Eu-rope 
as well as in A-mer-i-ca. 

In the mean time Thom- 
as had met Hood at Nash- 
ville and put an end to his 
whole force. 

In Ju-ly, 1864, Ad-mi-ral 
Far -ra- gut, with a large 
fleet, went to Mo-bile, which 
had two strong forts to 
keep foes at bay. What 
do you think Far-ra-gut 



did? He tied his boats 
in pairs, and then stood in 
the main-top of his flag- 
ship, and thus ran the fire 
of the forts with the loss 
of but one boat. He had 
a fight with and took the 
gun-boat Ten-nes-see, and 
in a short time, with the 
aid of a land force, took 
the two forts and made his 
way to Mo-bile. 

In this year the North 
met with great loss from 
gun-boats that were built 
in Eng-land to cruise the 
seas and catch or burn all 
ships that bore the Stars 
and Stripes. The trade of 
the North was much hurt, 
and it was not safe for her 
to send out ships with rich 
freight. The Al-a-ba-ma 
had done the most harm, 
and in June, 1864, she 
fought her last fight. 



THE HISTORV OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



"3 



The U-ni-ted States war- 
ship Kear-sarge came up 
with the Al-a-ba-ma off the 
coast of France, and at the 
end of an hour's hard fight 
she sank to rise no more. 
The North knew that Eno-- 
land had buih the Al-a-ba- 
ma for the South and had 
tried to get^ the Brit-ish 
not to let her go to sea. 
But in spite of this she set 
sail and did a great deal 
of harm, for which the 
North said Eng-land must 
pay, as she had been to 
blame. Now when you 
hear men talk of the ''Al- 
a-ba-ma Claims" you will 
know what they mean. 

In the spring of 1865 it 
was clear that the South 
would have to give up the 
cause for which it had 
fought for four long years. 
Gen-er-al Lee still held 



Rich-mond and Pe-ters- 
burg. On the first of 
A-pril Grant sent a force 
of men to lay siege to the 
works at Five Forks, where 
they drove off Lee's men. 
The next day the whole 
line of works in front of 
Pe-ters-burg fell. When 
Lee found he could not 
hold Pe-ters-burg or Rich- 
mond, he took flight with 
his troops for the west. 
Grant gave chase and kept 
close in Lee's rear. At 
last Lee had to give in. 
His men were foot -sore 
and in dire need of food. 
They could not keep up 
the fight. Terms of peace 
were drawn up by Grant, 
which Lee read and made 
haste to sign with his name. 
Then he told how his men 
had had no food for two 
days and Grant at once 



114 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STA TES. 



sent them what he could 
spare. Lee rode back to 
his troops and in a few 
words told them what he 
had done. 

*' Men," he said, ''we have 
fought, side by side, through 
the war, and I have done 
the best I could for you." 

By the end of May the 
South had laid down its 
arms. The Great War 
was at an end. The joy 
was great. All hearts were 
glad. Flags were at high- 
mast; bells rang; guns 
were fired ; and at night 
the streets were bright and 
gay. In the midst of this 
joy came the shock of a 
great grief 

Lin-coln was shot by a 
bad man named Booth. 
The deed was done at a 
play-house in Wash-ing- 



ton. Booth fled, but was 
found in a barn, and the 
shot sent at him was his 
death wound. Lin-coln 
died ; and grief was deep 
in the land. Flaofs are 
hung at half-mast; the 
bells that so late rang out 
a peal of joy, now toll a 
dirge. Strong men stand 
in their fields and weep. 
It is a sad, sad time. 

Lin-coln still lives in the 
hearts of men whom he 
taught to be firm in the 
right. He had a warm, 
true heart, a sound mind, 
and a strong trust in God 
who was his help at all 
times. On the bright roll 
of fame the name of A-bra- 
ham Lin-coln stands next 
to George Wash -ing- ton. 
One of the few that were 
not born to die. 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



115 



CHAPTER XVI. 



SINCE THE WAR. 



It took the North and 
South some time to bind 
up the wounds that war 
had made. The freed slaves 
had to be set at work. The 
men who had fought in 
the war were paid the 
sums due them, and then 
they laid down their arms 
and went back to their 
homes. 

When a chief dies the 
one next in rank rules, in 
his stead. The votes of the 
men of the U-ni-ted States 
had made An-drew John- 
son next in rank to A-bra- 
ham Lin-coln. John-son 
took his place in A-pril, 
1865, the same day that 
Lin-coln died. 



John-son did not go to 
work right. He made foes 
both in the North and in 
the South. He did thines 
that he had no riorht to 
do, and broke laws that 
he should have kept. For 
this he was tried in 1868, 
but as his guilt was not 
proved, he was not put out. 

The South came back in 
1868 and 1869, and once 
more all the States from 
Maine to Cal-i-for-nia were 
as one. 

I have not yet told you 
of Sam-u-el F. B. Morse, 
who first taught us how to 
talk to folks a long way 
off by means of a wire. 
The first wire was put up 



ii6 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



from Bal-ti-more to Wash- 
ing-ton in the year 1844. 
Now it seems as if that 
wire went round and round 
and round the world, there 
is so much of it. In 1858 
the wire was first put down 
in the bed of the sea, and 
in 1866 what was said in 
New York could be read 
and known in Eng-land. 
It was a grand scheme, 
and there was a great time 
in all the large towns when 
the first words were sent 
through this long wire. 
What do you thinlc were 
the first words that were 
sent through the first wire 
that was put up ? I will 
put them in big type so 
that they will stand out on 
the page. Here they are : 

"WHAT HATH GOD 
WROUGHT!" 



Should you go to New 
York you will find there a 
brown stone house, in the 
front of which is set a 
white stone, on which you 
may read these words : 

"In this house S. F. B. 
Morse lived for some years ; 
and here he died." 

In 1867 the U-ni-ted 
States bought from Rus-sia 
a laree tract of land known 
as A-las-ka, for which they 
paid a large sum in gold. 
We get fur from there as 
well as fish. 

When John-son's time 
was out, Gen-er-al Grant 
was put in his place by a 
large vote. He soon set 
things straight, and North 
and South were on good 
terms once more. He who 
had shown his skill in war, 
had now a chance to bring 
peace and good will to 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



117 



men. When the time came 
to choose a chief for the 
next term, the choice fell 
once more on Gen-er-al 
Grant, who took the oath, 
March 4th, 1873. 

In the year 1876, the 
U-ni-ted States kept its 
birth day. Ten times ten 
years had gone by since 
A-mer-i-ca was made free, 
and the U. S. was born. 
By this time it was a great 
strong child. A World's 
Fair was held at Phil-a- 
del-phia for six months, to 
which came crowds from 
all parts of the world. It 
was a grand sight ; such 
as one could not hope to 
see but once in a life-time. 

Ruth -er- ford B. Hayes 
took Grant's place in March, 
1877. He was a mild man, 
and ruled in peace. 

In 1 88 1 the choice fell 



on James A. Gar- field. 
He was once a poor boy, 
and had won his way by 
hard work. He had been 
through the war, and was 
much thought of in the 
West, where he was best 
known. All the acts of his 
life show that he was a 
brave man ; and he was so 
wise and just that he soon 
had a host of friends. 

The warm days came on, 
and Gar-field left the White 
House to take the train 
for New Eng-land. It was 
ofood to be free from the 
cares that had kept him at 
Wash-inof-ton. He felt like 
a boy let out of school. 
He was at peace with all 
men. He did not think he 
had a foe in the world. 
How soon all this was 
changed ! A bad man 
stood near where Gar-field 



iiS 



THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



had to pass, and shot at 
him as he went by. For 
long, long weeks Gar-field 
lay on a bed of pain at 
the White House. Then 
it was thought the sea air 
might help him, so he was 
borne to Long Branch, 
where he had the best of 
care and skill. But all was 
in vain. He died in the 
fall of the year 1881, and 
all men felt that it was a 
great grief to lose so good 
and brave a man. Tears 



fell from the eyes of old and 
young when the word was 
sent from Long Branch — 
''Gar-field is dead!" 

Ches-ter A. Ar-thur 
took Gar-field's place. His 
rule has been a wise and 
just one ; North and South 
are at peace ; and A-mer- 
i-ca still claims her right 
to be "the land of the free, 
and the home of the brave." 
Ar-thur's term will end in 
1885. 



THE END. 



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